[Dysphotic Swamp]
Ugh.
This swamp is the worst.
The worst.
The sucking mud? Terrible.
The gross smells? Terrible.
The swarms of flies? Terrible.
The blisters of weeds with rotten smelling water under them that pop when you step in them, getting your leg all slimed up?
Terrible.
This would be so, so much worse if Khannie actually cared about being cold. What with it being winter and this being a dark and gross swamp. But she doesn't, so that's one upside she guesses.
She had heard rumors that Team DERP minions had been spotted at this train depot place Outside and she had decided to go check to see if was true. Y'know, just do a little reconnaissance and if it looked like a good lead she could get a hold of Gaudia and hopefully get her missing friend back. But she didn't find a train depot. If there WAS a train depot here at some point it probably sank into the mud already.
Khannie had the good sense to just... illusion up clothing for herself, at least. She didn't want to use her Ghost costume and on the off chance she got caught in a fight she didn't want her real clothes to get shredded. That was probably a good choice, in retrospect, but not for the reason she was thinking. No, mostly because if she was wearing real shoes she's pretty sure the mud would have sucked them straight off her feet already at some point.
The bedraggled teen trudges past a sign, which helpfully informs her that 'mud' is that way and 'mire' is the other way.
Neither of these things are actually helpful.
Since Khannie isn't looking for people in trees at the moment she doesn't notice Seraphina sitting in one as she slogs under it. Though Seraphina might hear Khannie very loudly announcing, "OH GROSS THIS PLACE HAS LEECHES TOO!?" as she pulls the offending creature off herself and shakes it accusingly before hurling it away.
Outside: Grass touch place
-
bc56
- Poster from Beyond the Veil
- Posts: 2774
- Joined: Jul 25, 2022 3:09 pm
- Location: Sector ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha
Re: Outside: Grass touch place
Outside Space and Time
"My pleasure," Fate smiles and nods.
The door leads into utter blackness.
When Miranda steps through, however, she feels a sensation like falling backwards as bright lights and colors pass before her eyes. A moment later she feels solid ground beneath her feat and the fob of the detonator in her hand.
Beep!
Ba-BOOM!
She's back in the room with the statue. Sapphira is there, so is the artifact. The ceiling is about to start giving way.
Neon Forest
"Then kill fixer!" Kothar changes tactics. If the head can just be restored, he needs to take down the body. These things look pretty heavy, but he's pretty strong.
He charges, using his shield to continue protecting himself from the beam while he runs. He just needs to get up close to the golem and grab onto it. From there, he can use his supernatural strength to wrestle it to the ground. And the close quarters will make it difficult for the flying heads to shoot him without hitting the golem.
"My pleasure," Fate smiles and nods.
The door leads into utter blackness.
When Miranda steps through, however, she feels a sensation like falling backwards as bright lights and colors pass before her eyes. A moment later she feels solid ground beneath her feat and the fob of the detonator in her hand.
Beep!
Ba-BOOM!
She's back in the room with the statue. Sapphira is there, so is the artifact. The ceiling is about to start giving way.
Neon Forest
"Then kill fixer!" Kothar changes tactics. If the head can just be restored, he needs to take down the body. These things look pretty heavy, but he's pretty strong.
He charges, using his shield to continue protecting himself from the beam while he runs. He just needs to get up close to the golem and grab onto it. From there, he can use his supernatural strength to wrestle it to the ground. And the close quarters will make it difficult for the flying heads to shoot him without hitting the golem.
Avatar by me! No more outsourcing!
-
Earl of Purple
- Transcendent Soul Poster
- Posts: 2106
- Joined: Aug 01, 2022 3:59 pm
- Location: Amongst the Folk from the North
- Pronouns: He/Him
Re: Outside: Grass touch place
Welmet
"Why are you feeding this woman to a... chicken?" The former Vault-dweller says the last word with some hesitation, as though she's not too familiar with it. Apparently it's a giant chicken, but she doesn't know how big they're supposed to be. She leans on her spear, but the other hand has pulled the revolver from its holster and is pointing it at the ground.
"Why are you feeding this woman to a... chicken?" The former Vault-dweller says the last word with some hesitation, as though she's not too familiar with it. Apparently it's a giant chicken, but she doesn't know how big they're supposed to be. She leans on her spear, but the other hand has pulled the revolver from its holster and is pointing it at the ground.
Avatar provided by Happyturtle. Still using it, after all these years.
Don't run now, my eggs are hatching.
Don't run now, my eggs are hatching.
Re: Outside: Grass touch place
[Neon Forest]
Yeah that's sounding like a pretty solid plan to Khannie. The only PROBLEM is that the dumb shields on these things makes getting a hit in tricky.
Kothar moves in to tackle the one closer to him, but he'll encounter a problem here. Though he's definitely super strong his strength doesn't increase his weight. Getting the right leverage on the golem to tackle it to the ground is tricky. This is why the most effective capes with super strength pair it with supernatural flight, usually. That means you've got leverage all the time no matter what!
Either way, the paladin is doing his best to make it work. Though the closer he gets the harder it will be to deflect the beam into the golem.
Khannie is, however, not going to sit idly by. Given that the golem she's been shooting at is just blocking her attacks she decides to help Kothar with his foe as well. The shield looks like it's just a big disc, so maybe if she hits it from the opposite side it won't be able to block that? Sprinting in close she ignites her baton with blazing energy and plunges it into the golem's back! Wood sizzles and metal melts as the weapon plunges into the golem's insides-
-and it reacts by spinning around at the waste and back-handing Khannie, sending her tumbling away.
But!
That gives Kothar the opening he needs to yank the machine's legs out from under it and topple it to the ground. It has its shield projector buried in the grass now so a follow up attack might be able to finish it off.
The drone continues to be unhelpful by shifting its death ray from Kothar to Khannie.
The OTHER golem looks like it's about done fixing its drone.
And then, just to make matters worse, there comes a loud whooping chorus of cries from the distance in response to the trumpet. More friends!
Yeah that's sounding like a pretty solid plan to Khannie. The only PROBLEM is that the dumb shields on these things makes getting a hit in tricky.
Kothar moves in to tackle the one closer to him, but he'll encounter a problem here. Though he's definitely super strong his strength doesn't increase his weight. Getting the right leverage on the golem to tackle it to the ground is tricky. This is why the most effective capes with super strength pair it with supernatural flight, usually. That means you've got leverage all the time no matter what!
Either way, the paladin is doing his best to make it work. Though the closer he gets the harder it will be to deflect the beam into the golem.
Khannie is, however, not going to sit idly by. Given that the golem she's been shooting at is just blocking her attacks she decides to help Kothar with his foe as well. The shield looks like it's just a big disc, so maybe if she hits it from the opposite side it won't be able to block that? Sprinting in close she ignites her baton with blazing energy and plunges it into the golem's back! Wood sizzles and metal melts as the weapon plunges into the golem's insides-
-and it reacts by spinning around at the waste and back-handing Khannie, sending her tumbling away.
But!
That gives Kothar the opening he needs to yank the machine's legs out from under it and topple it to the ground. It has its shield projector buried in the grass now so a follow up attack might be able to finish it off.
The drone continues to be unhelpful by shifting its death ray from Kothar to Khannie.
The OTHER golem looks like it's about done fixing its drone.
And then, just to make matters worse, there comes a loud whooping chorus of cries from the distance in response to the trumpet. More friends!
Re: Outside: Grass touch place
[Forsaken Cathedral Redux]
"...You know, I think I forgot something important." Miranda quips, grabbing ahold of the artifact and bolting for the door. If it's light enough, she'll make a point of holding it over her head, noting that Sapphira seemed to have the power to physically repel anything that might cause it harm, and she doesn't want it smashed by falling rocks any more than Miranda does. Which would make it a fairly good source of protection against said falling rocks, from what she gathers.
"...You know, I think I forgot something important." Miranda quips, grabbing ahold of the artifact and bolting for the door. If it's light enough, she'll make a point of holding it over her head, noting that Sapphira seemed to have the power to physically repel anything that might cause it harm, and she doesn't want it smashed by falling rocks any more than Miranda does. Which would make it a fairly good source of protection against said falling rocks, from what she gathers.
Who're you? ...Don't matter.
Want some rye? Course ya do!
Here's to us!
Who's like us?
Damn few,
And they're aaaaall dead.
Want some rye? Course ya do!
Here's to us!
Who's like us?
Damn few,
And they're aaaaall dead.
-
Thursday Violist
- Coffin-Bound Aged Poster
- Posts: 660
- Joined: Aug 17, 2022 5:44 pm
Re: Outside: Grass touch place
[Dysphotic Swamp]
The leeches sucking blood isn't the worst part about them, even! They're magic leeches, so they not only hunt (partially) using heat but they also directly consume heat.
...
Which, to be honest, Khannie doesn't seem to have a problem with the cold. So they're basically just normal leeches for her.
Actually, it would probably be better if it were actually freezing here, since then the mud would just be ice. Sadly, it's not that cold.
Seraphina hears someone shout.
Definitely a sign of a person!
Much better than all the signs that there's not a person here.
She slides down from the tree and squishes into the ground.
"Hi...?" she calls out, as she goes in that direction, towards her. "Um...."
She sees who it is.
And that it's someone she's met before. Weird!
"...Wait, Khannie? What are you doing out here in the middle of wherever?"
She pauses, and has a thought. Yeah, that is a weird coincidence. Very weird.
...
She stops moving, and puts up a hand. "Hold up, you are Khannie, right? Or is this just one of those psychic ghost things? I wouldn't put it past this swamp..." Swamp making psychic ghosts appear to lure you deeper into the swamp? Yeah, definitely sounds plausible.
The leeches sucking blood isn't the worst part about them, even! They're magic leeches, so they not only hunt (partially) using heat but they also directly consume heat.
...
Which, to be honest, Khannie doesn't seem to have a problem with the cold. So they're basically just normal leeches for her.
Actually, it would probably be better if it were actually freezing here, since then the mud would just be ice. Sadly, it's not that cold.
Seraphina hears someone shout.
Definitely a sign of a person!
Much better than all the signs that there's not a person here.
She slides down from the tree and squishes into the ground.
"Hi...?" she calls out, as she goes in that direction, towards her. "Um...."
She sees who it is.
And that it's someone she's met before. Weird!
"...Wait, Khannie? What are you doing out here in the middle of wherever?"
She pauses, and has a thought. Yeah, that is a weird coincidence. Very weird.
...
She stops moving, and puts up a hand. "Hold up, you are Khannie, right? Or is this just one of those psychic ghost things? I wouldn't put it past this swamp..." Swamp making psychic ghosts appear to lure you deeper into the swamp? Yeah, definitely sounds plausible.
Re: Outside: Grass touch place
[Dysphotic Swamp]
Even if the magical properties of these leeches doesn't really matter they're STILL leeches and therefore still gross. And Khannie's blood is just an illusion of a living human girl's blood so it probably isn't even good for them.
Anyway!
She jumps a bit when she hears someone calling out. That doesn't mean much. She thought that she heard someone calling out earlier but that just lead her to a mostly hidden sinkhole that she had splorped into.
Khannie is pretty sure that if she still needed to breathe that would have been really bad.
But then Seraphina slides down a tree into the mud!
"Wait what? What the heck are you doing out here Seraphina?" Khannie asks at pretty much the same time Seraphina asks more or less the same question. She wrinkles her nose, considering the question. "I heard about some bad guys that were supposed to be at an old train depot and I went to check it out. But the signs were all wrong and I got stuck here instead."
And of course there isn't any cell coverage.
She'll let Seraphina answer her question too since there must be a reason why they ran into each other again in basically the same way it happened the first time.
At the second question she looks annoyed. "Yeah I'm the real Khannie. I've seen some fake people in the swamp but if you get close they're like... not all there? Like they only look like a person from a distance in the dark. They didn't look real like you."
Khannie may have eaten a swamp spirit or two in frustration.
"And I'm not psychic. You were at Glog when the fox tails thing happened, so you saw it. I'm NORMAL ghost not PSYCHIC ghost," Khannie helpfully explains.
Even if the magical properties of these leeches doesn't really matter they're STILL leeches and therefore still gross. And Khannie's blood is just an illusion of a living human girl's blood so it probably isn't even good for them.
Anyway!
She jumps a bit when she hears someone calling out. That doesn't mean much. She thought that she heard someone calling out earlier but that just lead her to a mostly hidden sinkhole that she had splorped into.
Khannie is pretty sure that if she still needed to breathe that would have been really bad.
But then Seraphina slides down a tree into the mud!
"Wait what? What the heck are you doing out here Seraphina?" Khannie asks at pretty much the same time Seraphina asks more or less the same question. She wrinkles her nose, considering the question. "I heard about some bad guys that were supposed to be at an old train depot and I went to check it out. But the signs were all wrong and I got stuck here instead."
And of course there isn't any cell coverage.
She'll let Seraphina answer her question too since there must be a reason why they ran into each other again in basically the same way it happened the first time.
At the second question she looks annoyed. "Yeah I'm the real Khannie. I've seen some fake people in the swamp but if you get close they're like... not all there? Like they only look like a person from a distance in the dark. They didn't look real like you."
Khannie may have eaten a swamp spirit or two in frustration.
"And I'm not psychic. You were at Glog when the fox tails thing happened, so you saw it. I'm NORMAL ghost not PSYCHIC ghost," Khannie helpfully explains.
Last edited by Rebonack on Dec 14, 2022 3:02 am, edited 1 time in total.
-
Thursday Violist
- Coffin-Bound Aged Poster
- Posts: 660
- Joined: Aug 17, 2022 5:44 pm
Re: Outside: Grass touch place
[Dysphotic Swamp]
If Khannie somehow got stuck in that sinkhole, then...at least she would've been found in there in four months when the dry season hits. The whole place really dries out and clears up every so often.
Well, okay. Four months is a long time to spend in a sinkhole. Probably would've gotten really bored by then. It's good she managed to get out.
After Khannie, Seraphina answers the same question back. "Got invited to visit HALO, so was following the signs to get there. Saw another sign not that far back saying it's still this way, but it doesn't seem right anymore." Seraphina stretches: "So I went up in a tree, partially to rest, partially to see what was around."
Of course, a fake person would also claim to be real. Otherwise, they'd be pretty ineffective fakes. Seraphina considers asking Khannie if she can touch her to make sure she's not an illusion or a fake ghost or whatever, but.
Y'know.
She considers the pros and cons of verifying that way, prays in her head for a moment, and decides it's better to just trust that it actually somehow is the real Khannie.
She decides to correct Khannie about something, though: "Actually, I didn't really see any 'fox tail' thing going on. I mean, one of your friends had a fox tail, right?" The woman shrugs. "You went to talk with them, I saw your little dragon and then ended up in a conversation with a shark for the rest of the time." Well...kind-of a shark. Not exactly, but that's the best description of what happened. "Not really sure what else was happening at that party." There, Khannie's caught up to speed on what Seraphina knows, just in case knowing what the 'fox tails thing' was is important, or just in case knowing what Khannie means by being a 'normal ghost' comes up or is relevant later.
...
Seraphina hopes that knowing what this 'fox tails thing' or 'normal ghost' refers to isn't actually that crucial to know in this situation.
Seraphina shakes her head, remembering something.
"Oh! So, yeah. From the tree, couldn't immediately see the way out. It's just all more swamp. But..." She points in each of the four compass directions, starting with north and going counterclockwise. "Glowing dragon corpse. Probably poison or spores in the air. Broken statue. Recently-dead people hanging, and possibly some still-alive people."
There, now Khannie's completely caught up to everything.
Going east, towards the corpses seems like the most expedient course since somebody both killed and hung them up, and probably not more than a couple days ago. They would likely know the way out, too. But Seraphina doesn't say that yet, since having someone the age of her youngest sister with her again changes the mental calculus of what the best/safest route would be.
If Khannie somehow got stuck in that sinkhole, then...at least she would've been found in there in four months when the dry season hits. The whole place really dries out and clears up every so often.
Well, okay. Four months is a long time to spend in a sinkhole. Probably would've gotten really bored by then. It's good she managed to get out.
After Khannie, Seraphina answers the same question back. "Got invited to visit HALO, so was following the signs to get there. Saw another sign not that far back saying it's still this way, but it doesn't seem right anymore." Seraphina stretches: "So I went up in a tree, partially to rest, partially to see what was around."
Of course, a fake person would also claim to be real. Otherwise, they'd be pretty ineffective fakes. Seraphina considers asking Khannie if she can touch her to make sure she's not an illusion or a fake ghost or whatever, but.
Y'know.
She considers the pros and cons of verifying that way, prays in her head for a moment, and decides it's better to just trust that it actually somehow is the real Khannie.
She decides to correct Khannie about something, though: "Actually, I didn't really see any 'fox tail' thing going on. I mean, one of your friends had a fox tail, right?" The woman shrugs. "You went to talk with them, I saw your little dragon and then ended up in a conversation with a shark for the rest of the time." Well...kind-of a shark. Not exactly, but that's the best description of what happened. "Not really sure what else was happening at that party." There, Khannie's caught up to speed on what Seraphina knows, just in case knowing what the 'fox tails thing' was is important, or just in case knowing what Khannie means by being a 'normal ghost' comes up or is relevant later.
...
Seraphina hopes that knowing what this 'fox tails thing' or 'normal ghost' refers to isn't actually that crucial to know in this situation.
Seraphina shakes her head, remembering something.
"Oh! So, yeah. From the tree, couldn't immediately see the way out. It's just all more swamp. But..." She points in each of the four compass directions, starting with north and going counterclockwise. "Glowing dragon corpse. Probably poison or spores in the air. Broken statue. Recently-dead people hanging, and possibly some still-alive people."
There, now Khannie's completely caught up to everything.
Going east, towards the corpses seems like the most expedient course since somebody both killed and hung them up, and probably not more than a couple days ago. They would likely know the way out, too. But Seraphina doesn't say that yet, since having someone the age of her youngest sister with her again changes the mental calculus of what the best/safest route would be.
Re: Outside: Grass touch place
[Dysphotic Swamp]
Thankfully Khannie didn't get stuck down there her dad would have gotten really worried. Also she might have missed out on her winter class!
Anyway, she replies to Seraphina's explanation by saying, "I haven't ever heard of HALO."
She hasn't heard of AMEN, either. The oldest orgs really aren't on her radar.
"Really? You didn't notice the fox scream noise or anything? I was just like twenty feet away from you and it was really loud," Khannie replies dubiously. She remembers the shark guy. Didn't she see him chilling in a fountain once? "Oh well, guess it doesn't matter too much. Since this place seems to like messing with people I should just show you now-"
Khannie lets most of the top half of her girl disguise peel away, revealing the ghostly zoroark under it. She offers Seraphina a foxy grin and waves at her with a paw before weaving the illusion again.
"So you get a wish when you become a magical girl, right? I had wished to be a real human instead of a pokemon. But I figured out the wish contract thingy woulda killed me so I broke the contract and that made my wish go away and that's why I was human when we met in that weird moving forest."
Khannie doesn't want Seraphina to assume she's some kind of tricksy duplicitous fox and get confused or mad or scared or whatever so better to lay this out now.
"I guess... Maybe we should check by the hanging tree first? That sounds gross but there must be people there, right?" Khannie reasons. "The spores sound dangerous and I dunno how useful broken statues and dead dragons would be."
Thankfully Khannie didn't get stuck down there her dad would have gotten really worried. Also she might have missed out on her winter class!
Anyway, she replies to Seraphina's explanation by saying, "I haven't ever heard of HALO."
She hasn't heard of AMEN, either. The oldest orgs really aren't on her radar.
"Really? You didn't notice the fox scream noise or anything? I was just like twenty feet away from you and it was really loud," Khannie replies dubiously. She remembers the shark guy. Didn't she see him chilling in a fountain once? "Oh well, guess it doesn't matter too much. Since this place seems to like messing with people I should just show you now-"
Khannie lets most of the top half of her girl disguise peel away, revealing the ghostly zoroark under it. She offers Seraphina a foxy grin and waves at her with a paw before weaving the illusion again.
"So you get a wish when you become a magical girl, right? I had wished to be a real human instead of a pokemon. But I figured out the wish contract thingy woulda killed me so I broke the contract and that made my wish go away and that's why I was human when we met in that weird moving forest."
Khannie doesn't want Seraphina to assume she's some kind of tricksy duplicitous fox and get confused or mad or scared or whatever so better to lay this out now.
"I guess... Maybe we should check by the hanging tree first? That sounds gross but there must be people there, right?" Khannie reasons. "The spores sound dangerous and I dunno how useful broken statues and dead dragons would be."
-
Thursday Violist
- Coffin-Bound Aged Poster
- Posts: 660
- Joined: Aug 17, 2022 5:44 pm
Re: Outside: Grass touch place
[Dysphotic Swamp]
"I hadn't heard of it either then but apparently everybody knows what it is," Seraphina says. She shrugs. Yeah, of course everybody knows what HALO is, even though neither of them had.
Nope, though: She didn't notice the fox scream noise.
She looks at Khannie's ghost fox form. She blinks.
"I think human's more of a state of mind, anyway. Doesn't really matter what you look like."
She starts to head east, towards the hanging tree. And she breaks off a dead branch that's in the way, so that she doesn't have to step into a large hole of water.
"Oh, funny story. Before I first met you, I ran into this kid. He thought being human meant having a demon bonded to your heart because only humans had that, and he said having one was evidence that you were a human." She gives a beat. "I told him that was hilarious, and then asked how believable it would be if I told people I was one-thirty-second mermaid and one-forty-eighth cow goddess."
She turns to Khannie and pulls down her hood. Just....normal human face. "Well, how about it? You see the catgirl in me? Or the mermaid?" She puts her hood back up and continues.
The path is....swampy. Swamped. Some areas of ground, some of moist and squishy ground, some that's underwater. But as they go forward, the average ground is getting higher. So it's getting dryer and more abovewater.
When they get close enough to see....
there's four bodies hanging from a tree. Not like they died from hanging, but more like they were hastily tied up, with ropes holding their arms, shoulders, legs, around their chest. Dripping with some kind of black slime.
"...feel free to look away," Seraphina says.
Actually, one of the bodies is still moving its arm.
A short distance to the right, there's a small camp with three tents, but with camping equipment scattered around and the tents partially collapsed.
"I hadn't heard of it either then but apparently everybody knows what it is," Seraphina says. She shrugs. Yeah, of course everybody knows what HALO is, even though neither of them had.
Nope, though: She didn't notice the fox scream noise.
She looks at Khannie's ghost fox form. She blinks.
"I think human's more of a state of mind, anyway. Doesn't really matter what you look like."
She starts to head east, towards the hanging tree. And she breaks off a dead branch that's in the way, so that she doesn't have to step into a large hole of water.
"Oh, funny story. Before I first met you, I ran into this kid. He thought being human meant having a demon bonded to your heart because only humans had that, and he said having one was evidence that you were a human." She gives a beat. "I told him that was hilarious, and then asked how believable it would be if I told people I was one-thirty-second mermaid and one-forty-eighth cow goddess."
She turns to Khannie and pulls down her hood. Just....normal human face. "Well, how about it? You see the catgirl in me? Or the mermaid?" She puts her hood back up and continues.
The path is....swampy. Swamped. Some areas of ground, some of moist and squishy ground, some that's underwater. But as they go forward, the average ground is getting higher. So it's getting dryer and more abovewater.
When they get close enough to see....
there's four bodies hanging from a tree. Not like they died from hanging, but more like they were hastily tied up, with ropes holding their arms, shoulders, legs, around their chest. Dripping with some kind of black slime.
"...feel free to look away," Seraphina says.
Actually, one of the bodies is still moving its arm.
A short distance to the right, there's a small camp with three tents, but with camping equipment scattered around and the tents partially collapsed.
Re: Outside: Grass touch place
[Dysphotic Swamp]
Khannie would argue that means everyone doesn't know where HALO is. She's pretty sure there was a Thanksmas party there once? But that was several years ago and she didn't make it to that one.
And!
Blinking is a better reaction to peeling back her illusion than freaking out, that's for sure. "Human totally matters what you look like. I dunno. I've thought about it a whole lot. I always knew I was supposed to be a human even though I was a pokemon; I just KNEW it. In the pokemon village humans were this... they were stories. Like, myths and legends and heroes and stuff. And my dad's one. But then I get HERE and I find out humans are just people like everyone else. I used to think that if I were JUST a real human then that would fix everything."
Khannie wrinkles her nose a bit.
"It didn't. All my problems were still my problems 'cuz that's just me. It was kinda nice, I guess. Pokemon are really aggressive and it's kinda hard to shake instinct, right? I don't think like a human even though I try to. I don't react the way to things a human should. But I don't lurk in tall grass like a creepy animal and jump people, either, so there's that."
Khannie wouldn't like living like an animal.
Then comes demon talk!
"What? That's doesn't even make any sense. Humans are a species like gerbils or foxes or apple trees or whatever. And NO I don't see any cow or mermaid 'cuz I think you were just being a doof and bluffing the dork you were talking to," Khannie retorts. And walks. And grumbles at the gross mud everywhere sucking at her feet with each step. But then! "Hey I got an idea. There's oodles of dark here so this should be-"
She makes a clutching motion, peeling shadows away from the surroundings and assembling them into three wide black squares that arrange themselves end to end a few inches above the mire.
"-easy!"
Khannie climbs on to of the first square and motions Seraphina to follow. When they walk from the first to the second the first flips around in front of the third, forming a nice little floating walkway. And in doing so her human disguise... flickers a bit. "Oof okay this is actually harder than I thought it would be. But at least we're outta the mud."
It makes the walk a little more pleasant!
Until the get to the (maybe?) corpses.
Khannie wrinkles her nose at them. "Oh heck. What the heck is- is that guy still moving? That black goop looks like zombie stuff. Uuh... maybe we should stay clear? I've... seen dead stuff before."
It still isn't pleasant, though. And she rather pointedly doesn't look at the corpses as she heads for the tents.
"Hello! Is anyone here?" Khannie calls out.
Khannie would argue that means everyone doesn't know where HALO is. She's pretty sure there was a Thanksmas party there once? But that was several years ago and she didn't make it to that one.
And!
Blinking is a better reaction to peeling back her illusion than freaking out, that's for sure. "Human totally matters what you look like. I dunno. I've thought about it a whole lot. I always knew I was supposed to be a human even though I was a pokemon; I just KNEW it. In the pokemon village humans were this... they were stories. Like, myths and legends and heroes and stuff. And my dad's one. But then I get HERE and I find out humans are just people like everyone else. I used to think that if I were JUST a real human then that would fix everything."
Khannie wrinkles her nose a bit.
"It didn't. All my problems were still my problems 'cuz that's just me. It was kinda nice, I guess. Pokemon are really aggressive and it's kinda hard to shake instinct, right? I don't think like a human even though I try to. I don't react the way to things a human should. But I don't lurk in tall grass like a creepy animal and jump people, either, so there's that."
Khannie wouldn't like living like an animal.
Then comes demon talk!
"What? That's doesn't even make any sense. Humans are a species like gerbils or foxes or apple trees or whatever. And NO I don't see any cow or mermaid 'cuz I think you were just being a doof and bluffing the dork you were talking to," Khannie retorts. And walks. And grumbles at the gross mud everywhere sucking at her feet with each step. But then! "Hey I got an idea. There's oodles of dark here so this should be-"
She makes a clutching motion, peeling shadows away from the surroundings and assembling them into three wide black squares that arrange themselves end to end a few inches above the mire.
"-easy!"
Khannie climbs on to of the first square and motions Seraphina to follow. When they walk from the first to the second the first flips around in front of the third, forming a nice little floating walkway. And in doing so her human disguise... flickers a bit. "Oof okay this is actually harder than I thought it would be. But at least we're outta the mud."
It makes the walk a little more pleasant!
Until the get to the (maybe?) corpses.
Khannie wrinkles her nose at them. "Oh heck. What the heck is- is that guy still moving? That black goop looks like zombie stuff. Uuh... maybe we should stay clear? I've... seen dead stuff before."
It still isn't pleasant, though. And she rather pointedly doesn't look at the corpses as she heads for the tents.
"Hello! Is anyone here?" Khannie calls out.
-
bc56
- Poster from Beyond the Veil
- Posts: 2774
- Joined: Jul 25, 2022 3:09 pm
- Location: Sector ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha
Re: Outside: Grass touch place
Forsaken Cathedral
Sapphira lunges for Miranda and grabs ahold of the other end of the relic. The two tug at the object for a moment before several things happen at once.
Charcoal, apparently having overcome her fear for a moment, enters the chamber. "Miranda, we need to..." She freezes in terror at the sight of Sapphira. Next, the ceiling gives an ominous crack, and a huge chunk of rock drops a few inches right above the wrestlers' heads. "No!" Charcoal snaps out of it and moves, tackling Miranda to the ground and landing on top of her. Sapphira triumphantly holds up the artifact... Only to be crushed by the slab of ceiling. Her prize rolls to a stop next to Miranda...
And then the ceiling caves all the way in. Dust and rock rains down as Charcoal spreads her wings wide to shield Miranda beneath her.
Did Fate orchestrate that? So many things occurring at just the right times. It's almost too lucky to be a coincidence.
Unfortunately the situation when the dust settles is far from ideal. Charcoal, Miranda and the artifact are buried in a tiny opening in the rock, pressed nearly face to face in the tight space. They're uncomfortable, but alive.
Neon Forest
Kothar strikes down at the toppled golem, cleaving through its back with a mighty swing. Of course it sounds like reinforcements are coming, so he'd better make this quick. He turns and sprints for the processing station, hoping to destroy it before they get bogged down fighting the new foes.
Sapphira lunges for Miranda and grabs ahold of the other end of the relic. The two tug at the object for a moment before several things happen at once.
Charcoal, apparently having overcome her fear for a moment, enters the chamber. "Miranda, we need to..." She freezes in terror at the sight of Sapphira. Next, the ceiling gives an ominous crack, and a huge chunk of rock drops a few inches right above the wrestlers' heads. "No!" Charcoal snaps out of it and moves, tackling Miranda to the ground and landing on top of her. Sapphira triumphantly holds up the artifact... Only to be crushed by the slab of ceiling. Her prize rolls to a stop next to Miranda...
And then the ceiling caves all the way in. Dust and rock rains down as Charcoal spreads her wings wide to shield Miranda beneath her.
Did Fate orchestrate that? So many things occurring at just the right times. It's almost too lucky to be a coincidence.
Unfortunately the situation when the dust settles is far from ideal. Charcoal, Miranda and the artifact are buried in a tiny opening in the rock, pressed nearly face to face in the tight space. They're uncomfortable, but alive.
Neon Forest
Kothar strikes down at the toppled golem, cleaving through its back with a mighty swing. Of course it sounds like reinforcements are coming, so he'd better make this quick. He turns and sprints for the processing station, hoping to destroy it before they get bogged down fighting the new foes.
Avatar by me! No more outsourcing!
Re: Outside: Grass touch place
[Forsaken Cathedral]
...Well, that's uncomfortable. And Sapphira's invocation of Miranda's succubus bits certainly isn't making this situation any more comfortable. But at least they're alive, at least until the air runs out.
Then again, as Miranda recalls from that one time she and the demon queen went to space, that's really only a problem for her. Charcoal could probably survive this indefinitely.
"...When you said you expected me to get out of a tight place, this isn't what I thought you meant." Miranda mumbles to seemingly nobody in particular.
Hopefully Fate finds that amusing.
Right. Okay. So. They're some undetermined number of meters underground, presumably in excess of fifty but not likely yet to a hundred. That gives them some options. If they'd coordinated things in advance, maybe they could send a distress signal and hope someone could reach them within the next ten minutes or so. Or-
Actually, no. She probably ought to handle the oxygen problem first.
Miranda reaches into her Hotbox (with much awkward shuffling of her hands around Charcoal's waist) and produces a rebreather, pressing it up to her mouth.
That done, she takes a little time to flash Charcoal a smile. "Well done, by the way." She says, giving Charcoal as much of a nod as she can manage. "I mean that. Coming into this room was hard for you. I just want you to know I appreciate it."
...Well, that's uncomfortable. And Sapphira's invocation of Miranda's succubus bits certainly isn't making this situation any more comfortable. But at least they're alive, at least until the air runs out.
Then again, as Miranda recalls from that one time she and the demon queen went to space, that's really only a problem for her. Charcoal could probably survive this indefinitely.
"...When you said you expected me to get out of a tight place, this isn't what I thought you meant." Miranda mumbles to seemingly nobody in particular.
Hopefully Fate finds that amusing.
Right. Okay. So. They're some undetermined number of meters underground, presumably in excess of fifty but not likely yet to a hundred. That gives them some options. If they'd coordinated things in advance, maybe they could send a distress signal and hope someone could reach them within the next ten minutes or so. Or-
Actually, no. She probably ought to handle the oxygen problem first.
Miranda reaches into her Hotbox (with much awkward shuffling of her hands around Charcoal's waist) and produces a rebreather, pressing it up to her mouth.
That done, she takes a little time to flash Charcoal a smile. "Well done, by the way." She says, giving Charcoal as much of a nod as she can manage. "I mean that. Coming into this room was hard for you. I just want you to know I appreciate it."
Who're you? ...Don't matter.
Want some rye? Course ya do!
Here's to us!
Who's like us?
Damn few,
And they're aaaaall dead.
Want some rye? Course ya do!
Here's to us!
Who's like us?
Damn few,
And they're aaaaall dead.
-
bc56
- Poster from Beyond the Veil
- Posts: 2774
- Joined: Jul 25, 2022 3:09 pm
- Location: Sector ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha
Re: Outside: Grass touch place
Forsaken Cathedral
He was being surprisingly literal and non-cryptic, but that's neither here nor there.
Charcoal doesn't look much more comfortable than Miranda. She's at least more used to the succubus-y feelings involved, but she's also in the awkward position of holding up the roof. "I can still feel her. There." she motions as much as she can to the artifact.
That's another danger. The artifact is still leaking its power out into reality, and now they're stuck right next to it. It's probably not healthy to stay in that position even before considering that some fragment of Sapphira resides within it.
And there's one other thing of note. "What's that on your wrist?" Charcoal's noticed the mark Miranda received from Fate. How will she explain that?
He was being surprisingly literal and non-cryptic, but that's neither here nor there.
Charcoal doesn't look much more comfortable than Miranda. She's at least more used to the succubus-y feelings involved, but she's also in the awkward position of holding up the roof. "I can still feel her. There." she motions as much as she can to the artifact.
That's another danger. The artifact is still leaking its power out into reality, and now they're stuck right next to it. It's probably not healthy to stay in that position even before considering that some fragment of Sapphira resides within it.
And there's one other thing of note. "What's that on your wrist?" Charcoal's noticed the mark Miranda received from Fate. How will she explain that?
Avatar by me! No more outsourcing!
Re: Outside: Grass touch place
[Forsaken Cathedral]
"Something to deal with later." Miranda replies sharply, looking up at the collapsed rock on top of them. "...Although." She looks down at the artifact to see how damaged it is. Clearly smashing Sapphira under several tons of rock did something to her, which might have given Miranda the opening she would need to secure the artifact itself if she had the room. As it stands, she can just try to get a feel for how long the explosion bought her.
"...I don't suppose there's any way to open up a portal down here?" She asks. "Because that would be very convenient."
"Something to deal with later." Miranda replies sharply, looking up at the collapsed rock on top of them. "...Although." She looks down at the artifact to see how damaged it is. Clearly smashing Sapphira under several tons of rock did something to her, which might have given Miranda the opening she would need to secure the artifact itself if she had the room. As it stands, she can just try to get a feel for how long the explosion bought her.
"...I don't suppose there's any way to open up a portal down here?" She asks. "Because that would be very convenient."
Who're you? ...Don't matter.
Want some rye? Course ya do!
Here's to us!
Who's like us?
Damn few,
And they're aaaaall dead.
Want some rye? Course ya do!
Here's to us!
Who's like us?
Damn few,
And they're aaaaall dead.
Re: Outside: Grass touch place
[Welmet]
As for the vault-dweller, even someone grown in a hole in the ground ought to instinctively know that a chicken is not supposed to stand taller than trees it felled used to.
"Caw! Caw! Is this it? Is this your noble sacrifice?", a voice comes from behind the procession, before any of the humans manage to answer the newcomer. The voice belongs to a murder of crows that have taken perch on the intact trees at the edge of the clearing. "This your martyr? The one to die for your sins? A hapless traveller you've made drink herself senseless and then dragged here from her bed! Or should I say, your beds? Have you no shame? Or is that you're so ashamed of last night that you'd rather she disappear from face of the earth?", the first crow mocks.
A second crow stares at "Mai" and seems to speak directly to her. "Caw! Would you rather be eaten by us, then? By the worms in the ground? By the trees? From the day you were born, you were fated to die. From dirt you've come, and dirt you will become. Is this a worse way to go than any other?"
The villagers glare at Hiep, or "Mai". The absurdity of their situation does not escape them. They simply can not find any humour in it. With a bird the size of a warship looming over them, their vantage point compared to it is that of grubs at its feet. It could swallow any of them whole, so wondering whether it is hungry does not help anyone's mood.Earl of Purple wrote: ↑Dec 13, 2022 12:54 pm "Why are you feeding this woman to a... chicken?" The former Vault-dweller says the last word with some hesitation, as though she's not too familiar with it. Apparently it's a giant chicken, but she doesn't know how big they're supposed to be. She leans on her spear, but the other hand has pulled the revolver from its holster and is pointing it at the ground.
As for the vault-dweller, even someone grown in a hole in the ground ought to instinctively know that a chicken is not supposed to stand taller than trees it felled used to.
"Caw! Caw! Is this it? Is this your noble sacrifice?", a voice comes from behind the procession, before any of the humans manage to answer the newcomer. The voice belongs to a murder of crows that have taken perch on the intact trees at the edge of the clearing. "This your martyr? The one to die for your sins? A hapless traveller you've made drink herself senseless and then dragged here from her bed! Or should I say, your beds? Have you no shame? Or is that you're so ashamed of last night that you'd rather she disappear from face of the earth?", the first crow mocks.
A second crow stares at "Mai" and seems to speak directly to her. "Caw! Would you rather be eaten by us, then? By the worms in the ground? By the trees? From the day you were born, you were fated to die. From dirt you've come, and dirt you will become. Is this a worse way to go than any other?"
-
Shadowcaller
- Poster from Beyond the Veil
- Posts: 2880
- Joined: Aug 02, 2022 6:29 am
- Location: Sweden
Re: Outside: Grass touch place
Earl of Purple wrote: ↑Dec 09, 2022 4:22 pm Sky Library
"My son takes after his mother, he is not entirely human. Regardless, I shall endeavour to steer him away from such arts." Benedict considers asking for the dragon's definition of 'innocent', but decides that would not endear him to her in any way and it's best to just avoid killing anyone who is incapable of fighting back with the tumi. He did, fortunately, mention he can't foresee a reason to need to kill an innocent in the future. His manservant works better with a live host, but he can either source 'guilty' people for new bodies if he needs one, or else use corpses.
Magtok wrote: ↑Dec 10, 2022 6:47 am [Tower of Oujet]
Okay, now that the golems are out of the way, Saint Lazarus turns around, intent on figuring out the inscrutable machinery of this place, so they can climb to the top of the tower and claim the Oujet and save the day...or whatever it was that's supposed to be waiting for them up there. Some sort of magical artifact which was accidentally activated by some adventurers, one that the zombie factions are now fighting over, right? Something like that, she thinks.
Okay there we go, that looks like the way to go. Saint Lazarus hurries over to push the things together, hoping she's not foolishly using physical force to do something that was meant to be achieved with the push of a button. She considers checking out the controls Anika was fiddling with, but those are all the way over there, and who knows if another golem or zombie will show up while we're wasting time looking for the right switch or lever?
Sky LibraryRebonack wrote: ↑Dec 10, 2022 3:13 pm [Tower of Oujet]
Anika's main obstacle to success in this case will be the fact that the golems don't bleed. How are you supposed to inflict bleeding damage on things that don't have any-
Oh.
Wait.
There's some kind of weird blue arcane fluid leaking out of the thing.
That's on fire.
Because of course it is.
The golem fights back, lashing out at Anika with a blue-bladed axe crackling with arcane power and occasionally tries to jab her with that same stunning prod weapon that it used on Laz. Hopefully Anika has some good sense and maxed out her stun resistance.
Meanwhile!
Laz grabs the handy leavers sticking out of the upper and lower armature and with her zombie strength YANKS them together! She can feel something engage inside them, then it's just a matter of twisting the two sections so they lock in place. Power begins flowing upward once again! Also a bunch of weird equipment begins folding out of what otherwise looked like unremarkable marble walls. Slabs surrounded by spidery golden and stone limbs each ending in a multitude of fine tools that look like they would be pretty good at taking something apart or putting something together. Each device is flanked by a hopper for dumping raw materials into. Probably?
Well!
That's pretty fancy.
More machinery begins humming on the next floor up where Anika had initially encountered the golems. They've just got the next room to puzzle their way through and then they should probably be up at the top of the tower after that.
"Good, then consider yourself dismissed from my chamber. You may stay within my library as long as you like as long as you obey its rules." Megeshi rumbles back and soon closes her eyes once she finished speaking. Her enormous head seemingly relaxing against the 'bed' that makes up the sea of books around them.
[Tower of Oujet]
To be fair to Anika, she was really more aiming to pummel them, mauling just sounded neater. That they were suddenly on fire, well, that was just a bonus really. Fire was awesome.
For one, if something was burning you could push it into something else and soon that would be burning too. Or at least that's her logic as she attempts to push the burning golem into the other by ramming it head on.
The cattle prod stung and would leave her rather stiff but as long as she could just move forward her sheer mass would do the trick here. She didn't need some fancy nimble tricks when she had raw force on her side.
-
Earl of Purple
- Transcendent Soul Poster
- Posts: 2106
- Joined: Aug 01, 2022 3:59 pm
- Location: Amongst the Folk from the North
- Pronouns: He/Him
Re: Outside: Grass touch place
Sky Library
Benedict bows as he's dismissed, and copying him Mergei drops into a rough curtsy. They'll leave the chamber, and Benedict will bid farewell to the chap they'd met earlier and collect the items dropped off with the librarian and leave. There's interesting things here, for sure, but... Benedict doesn't trust the dragon not to change her mind, and he's gained more than he was expecting from this trip anyway. He will come back; he's promised a book on mystic architecture to Megeshi.
Benedict bows as he's dismissed, and copying him Mergei drops into a rough curtsy. They'll leave the chamber, and Benedict will bid farewell to the chap they'd met earlier and collect the items dropped off with the librarian and leave. There's interesting things here, for sure, but... Benedict doesn't trust the dragon not to change her mind, and he's gained more than he was expecting from this trip anyway. He will come back; he's promised a book on mystic architecture to Megeshi.
Avatar provided by Happyturtle. Still using it, after all these years.
Don't run now, my eggs are hatching.
Don't run now, my eggs are hatching.
Re: Outside: Grass touch place
[Neon Forest]
Khannie, meanwhile, picks herself back up to her feet. That punch had knocked her for a loop. After seeing how slowly these things move she really wasn't expecting it to spin around on her that fast. Nothing appears to be broken; thankfully being a pokemon has its perks. She leaves her pair of doubles behind, leaving a relatively complex pattern for them to play out over and over again and hopefully keep the not too smart golem occupied while she and Kothar go after the big tree.
And wow is it ever a big tree.
Probably fourteen feet across, easily. If they were just trying to chop it down that would make WAY more time than they have considering the hooting and whooping noises that are getting closer. There must be-
There!
A little diamond shaped bit with a handle on it like the one near the altar! Khannie jogs over and yanks the thing and-
"Beans, it's stuck. I think I can get this thing open and pull whatever this thingy is out but we're about to be up to our eyeballs in badguys. Keep 'em off me while I'm working."
Time to plug Sirius in and get hacking!
And that's when the mooks show up.
Khannie isn't sure what they're actually called, but they're obnoxious little things. They've popped up at all the bunkers she's explored so far, green skinned froggy lizardy humanoid things with a glossy black plate of something replacing the top and back of their skull. Khannie is pretty sure it's like a computer brain or something. Their insides aren't quite right, either. Like their muscles are made of plastic. Sometimes they're armed and armored. Sometimes they just run around and try gouging with their claws.
Thankfully these are the latter rather than the former and she's pretty sure Kothar should be able to handle half a dozen of the things.
Khannie, meanwhile, picks herself back up to her feet. That punch had knocked her for a loop. After seeing how slowly these things move she really wasn't expecting it to spin around on her that fast. Nothing appears to be broken; thankfully being a pokemon has its perks. She leaves her pair of doubles behind, leaving a relatively complex pattern for them to play out over and over again and hopefully keep the not too smart golem occupied while she and Kothar go after the big tree.
And wow is it ever a big tree.
Probably fourteen feet across, easily. If they were just trying to chop it down that would make WAY more time than they have considering the hooting and whooping noises that are getting closer. There must be-
There!
A little diamond shaped bit with a handle on it like the one near the altar! Khannie jogs over and yanks the thing and-
"Beans, it's stuck. I think I can get this thing open and pull whatever this thingy is out but we're about to be up to our eyeballs in badguys. Keep 'em off me while I'm working."
Time to plug Sirius in and get hacking!
And that's when the mooks show up.
Khannie isn't sure what they're actually called, but they're obnoxious little things. They've popped up at all the bunkers she's explored so far, green skinned froggy lizardy humanoid things with a glossy black plate of something replacing the top and back of their skull. Khannie is pretty sure it's like a computer brain or something. Their insides aren't quite right, either. Like their muscles are made of plastic. Sometimes they're armed and armored. Sometimes they just run around and try gouging with their claws.
Thankfully these are the latter rather than the former and she's pretty sure Kothar should be able to handle half a dozen of the things.
Re: Outside: Grass touch place
[Hog Heaven]Shadowcaller wrote: ↑Dec 09, 2022 11:04 am [Hog Heaven]
"It is a pretty good deal. All we need in return is for you to pay part of the construction of the teleportation device and of course make sure the local is appropriate for our dancing needs once we perform." She leans forward, propping up her chin with her knuckles. "A private performance though? Might be a bit too much to ask for, miss Tsumi. Those are very exclusive. I'd need more to justify that sort of treatment." The gorgon smiles widely.
"Since otherwise there's video evidence aplenty of my talents for you to review. For Fayyaad's too if you're so inclined."
"You're asking me to pay a chunk of change for the chance to diversify my customer base here! I'm taking a risk! Doesn't that earn me any concessions, huh?" Tsumi asks, her smirk wolfish. She pours a couple drinks for parched customers, but her attention mostly remains on Dena. "You should know that video doesn't hold a candle to the real thing, miss. Just what can I do to help make up your mind in my favor?"
-
Thursday Violist
- Coffin-Bound Aged Poster
- Posts: 660
- Joined: Aug 17, 2022 5:44 pm
Re: Outside: Grass touch place
[Dysphotic Swamp]
Khannie's argument that 'human' is about what you look like isn't convincing enough. Seraphina's mind is unchanged.
"I'm unconvinced. I've never seen animals get as aggressive as humans can be."
Seraphina is probably unconvincing, too, considering how unconventional her definition of 'humanity' is.
Seraphina watches the shadows form. This is the same kind of thing Khannie did in that cave, right? To create a fake wall and block out that petrification light. Seraphina's weirdly glad she's managing to recognize some of Khannie's powers.
"Hm, maybe you're right," she says. Walking on solid shadow is weird, but it is definitely better than mud. "Maybe I am part apple tree. My great-great grandma was a Pink Lady. It'd explain my hair color, at least." Then, to decisively distract Khannie and prevent her from arguing that Seraphina isn't anything remotely tree-like, she swiftly changes the subject by saying, "This is a pretty fancy trick. Making platforms like this is really helpful, thanks."
"If there's one thing I'm not interested in meeting, it's zombies," Seraphina says. She, too, wants to look away from it. But, since Khannie mentioned one was still twitching, she decides she needs to keep a much closer eye on them, in case it somehow escapes the ropes. "I'm sure they're nice people, but I'm not really into the whole bitey thing, that much."
She doesn't just stare at it, but rather checks it every so often.
Ugh, this is gross.
There is nobody in the tents.
Seraphina looks inside them, and notices things scattered around. There's even things like flashlights and books around! Some canned food, water bottles. She tries one of the headlamps - battery dead - while keeping an eye on the tree.
Nobody in the tents answers Khannie.
However, not far off, there's a groan! Bushes just to the south of the camp.
Should Khannie check it out, there's a woman there. Half-orc, short yellow hair. It seems Khannie calling out has roused her enough to start groaning and try to crawl back towards the camp. It's made difficult, though, since she's got a tourniquet on an arm, and is sweating a lot. And her breathing is labored. And there's some of that same black slime on her hand.
Khannie's argument that 'human' is about what you look like isn't convincing enough. Seraphina's mind is unchanged.
"I'm unconvinced. I've never seen animals get as aggressive as humans can be."
Seraphina is probably unconvincing, too, considering how unconventional her definition of 'humanity' is.
Seraphina watches the shadows form. This is the same kind of thing Khannie did in that cave, right? To create a fake wall and block out that petrification light. Seraphina's weirdly glad she's managing to recognize some of Khannie's powers.
"Hm, maybe you're right," she says. Walking on solid shadow is weird, but it is definitely better than mud. "Maybe I am part apple tree. My great-great grandma was a Pink Lady. It'd explain my hair color, at least." Then, to decisively distract Khannie and prevent her from arguing that Seraphina isn't anything remotely tree-like, she swiftly changes the subject by saying, "This is a pretty fancy trick. Making platforms like this is really helpful, thanks."
"If there's one thing I'm not interested in meeting, it's zombies," Seraphina says. She, too, wants to look away from it. But, since Khannie mentioned one was still twitching, she decides she needs to keep a much closer eye on them, in case it somehow escapes the ropes. "I'm sure they're nice people, but I'm not really into the whole bitey thing, that much."
She doesn't just stare at it, but rather checks it every so often.
Ugh, this is gross.
There is nobody in the tents.
Seraphina looks inside them, and notices things scattered around. There's even things like flashlights and books around! Some canned food, water bottles. She tries one of the headlamps - battery dead - while keeping an eye on the tree.
Nobody in the tents answers Khannie.
However, not far off, there's a groan! Bushes just to the south of the camp.
Should Khannie check it out, there's a woman there. Half-orc, short yellow hair. It seems Khannie calling out has roused her enough to start groaning and try to crawl back towards the camp. It's made difficult, though, since she's got a tourniquet on an arm, and is sweating a lot. And her breathing is labored. And there's some of that same black slime on her hand.
Re: Outside: Grass touch place
[Dysphotic Swamp]
"Have you ever seen a human jump out of some tall grass and bite someone just for walking by?" Khannie counters. Clearly she isn't familiar with the tribalistic accesses of humanity.
Then she's gotta stick her tongue out at Seraphina.
"You aren't part apple tree you doof," she retorts, completely sure in this fact. When she does her human face peel away, revealing a zoroark doing a blep at Seraphina. Khannie seems surprised when this happens! She even makes a surprised fox noise.
Hastily she pulls her girl face back on.
"The shadows aren't listening to me like they normally do," she says, eyeing the marshy soil a scraggly trees suspiciously. "This dumb swamp is messing with my magic."
Which she isn't happy about.
Upon reaching the slightly dryer camp site she dismisses her shadow steppingstones and hops to the ground, causing the visual artifacts on her human disguise to mostly stop.
"Yeah zombies are gross," Khannie agrees. "Really gross."
Did the lobotomized cyborgs count as zombies?
She felt like they did.
But then person dragging themselves! And groaning instead of calling out for help! Khannie approaches cautiously. "Hey what the heck is going on here? How come those people are hanging from that tree?"
"Have you ever seen a human jump out of some tall grass and bite someone just for walking by?" Khannie counters. Clearly she isn't familiar with the tribalistic accesses of humanity.
Then she's gotta stick her tongue out at Seraphina.
"You aren't part apple tree you doof," she retorts, completely sure in this fact. When she does her human face peel away, revealing a zoroark doing a blep at Seraphina. Khannie seems surprised when this happens! She even makes a surprised fox noise.
Hastily she pulls her girl face back on.
"The shadows aren't listening to me like they normally do," she says, eyeing the marshy soil a scraggly trees suspiciously. "This dumb swamp is messing with my magic."
Which she isn't happy about.
Upon reaching the slightly dryer camp site she dismisses her shadow steppingstones and hops to the ground, causing the visual artifacts on her human disguise to mostly stop.
"Yeah zombies are gross," Khannie agrees. "Really gross."
Did the lobotomized cyborgs count as zombies?
She felt like they did.
But then person dragging themselves! And groaning instead of calling out for help! Khannie approaches cautiously. "Hey what the heck is going on here? How come those people are hanging from that tree?"
Last edited by Rebonack on Dec 15, 2022 5:17 pm, edited 1 time in total.
-
Thursday Violist
- Coffin-Bound Aged Poster
- Posts: 660
- Joined: Aug 17, 2022 5:44 pm
Re: Outside: Grass touch place
[Dysphotic Swamp]
"Not out of grass," Seraphina says, implying she has seen it happen elsewhere. Like in a street.
Eh, whatever. If Khannie thinks that it doesn't happen, then that's good. Hopefully she'll never see it happen. Never running into someone like that would be the ideal.
It does suck when swamps mess with your magic.
Not that Seraphina would know, though. She doesn't have magic so she's not inconvenienced by that sort of thing.
Khannie faces the age-old question: is this a zombie who doesn't look as decayed as the other zombies? Or is it just someone who's sick and really really in pain?
Seraphina bends down and grabs the first long-ish solid thing she finds (it's a cooking pan) and looks at the crawling person. Then back at the tree. And around, in case something else tries sneaking up on them. And back at the crawling person. It sucks that the lighting is so bad here. Very twilight-ish, there's too many shadows and dim light and hiding places.
She moves towards Khannie.
Speaking of moving towards Khannie!
The crawling person.
Quickly proves themselves to not be a zombie yet and just someone in a lot of pain. If you're in enough pain, it becomes too hard to even call out for help. Luckily, this person isn't quite at that stage yet, since they do manage to whisper "help me" and "t-too late...for them" Luckily, this person stops crawling at Khannie, since Khannie went towards her. The half-orc woman winces in pain and groans again. She can't muster the strength to immediately speak again, so she gestures with her head at her injured arm, hoping that explains what's going on.
Seraphina reaches into her pack under her cloak, looking for something. (An old pair of waterproof gloves.) Even though it was probably obvious, she tells Khannie, "Um, just...try not to touch her yet," forgetting that Khannie can create a whole, tactile illusory body.
"Not out of grass," Seraphina says, implying she has seen it happen elsewhere. Like in a street.
Eh, whatever. If Khannie thinks that it doesn't happen, then that's good. Hopefully she'll never see it happen. Never running into someone like that would be the ideal.
It does suck when swamps mess with your magic.
Not that Seraphina would know, though. She doesn't have magic so she's not inconvenienced by that sort of thing.
Khannie faces the age-old question: is this a zombie who doesn't look as decayed as the other zombies? Or is it just someone who's sick and really really in pain?
Seraphina bends down and grabs the first long-ish solid thing she finds (it's a cooking pan) and looks at the crawling person. Then back at the tree. And around, in case something else tries sneaking up on them. And back at the crawling person. It sucks that the lighting is so bad here. Very twilight-ish, there's too many shadows and dim light and hiding places.
She moves towards Khannie.
Speaking of moving towards Khannie!
The crawling person.
Quickly proves themselves to not be a zombie yet and just someone in a lot of pain. If you're in enough pain, it becomes too hard to even call out for help. Luckily, this person isn't quite at that stage yet, since they do manage to whisper "help me" and "t-too late...for them" Luckily, this person stops crawling at Khannie, since Khannie went towards her. The half-orc woman winces in pain and groans again. She can't muster the strength to immediately speak again, so she gestures with her head at her injured arm, hoping that explains what's going on.
Seraphina reaches into her pack under her cloak, looking for something. (An old pair of waterproof gloves.) Even though it was probably obvious, she tells Khannie, "Um, just...try not to touch her yet," forgetting that Khannie can create a whole, tactile illusory body.
-
bc56
- Poster from Beyond the Veil
- Posts: 2774
- Joined: Jul 25, 2022 3:09 pm
- Location: Sector ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha
Re: Outside: Grass touch place
Forsaken Cathedral
"I can't do it. Sekhmet could, but she doesn't know where we are, or that anything bad has happened." That's a bit of a pickle. "Maybe, if one of us drew on her power," Charcoal indicates the artifact, "We would be strong enough, but I don't know how the portal opening magic works." She expects Miranda doesn't know either.
Neon Forest
Just six of them? This is hardly even a fair fight.
Kothar turns to stand between Khannie and the incoming cyberfrogs with his axe at the ready. When the first one comes into his reach, he strikes, the axe cleaving a sweeping arc of flame through the air and at the creature's midsection. Whether or not it falls, Kothar lets the weapon's momentum carry him through as he twists around into a spinning vertical strike at the next one to come into range.
These simple, straightforward fights are where he's in his element.
"I can't do it. Sekhmet could, but she doesn't know where we are, or that anything bad has happened." That's a bit of a pickle. "Maybe, if one of us drew on her power," Charcoal indicates the artifact, "We would be strong enough, but I don't know how the portal opening magic works." She expects Miranda doesn't know either.
Neon Forest
Just six of them? This is hardly even a fair fight.
Kothar turns to stand between Khannie and the incoming cyberfrogs with his axe at the ready. When the first one comes into his reach, he strikes, the axe cleaving a sweeping arc of flame through the air and at the creature's midsection. Whether or not it falls, Kothar lets the weapon's momentum carry him through as he twists around into a spinning vertical strike at the next one to come into range.
These simple, straightforward fights are where he's in his element.
Avatar by me! No more outsourcing!
Re: Outside: Grass touch place
[Forsaken Cathedral]
"In that case, our best bet would probably be trying to make contact with her." Miranda says, pointedly averting her gaze from the artifact. She does have some theoretical knowledge that might help with something like teleporting... but using it wrong could dislocate them from the Nexus entirely. Not to mention she has zero means of actually implementing it. "And I'm guessing you don't have an easy answer there, either. Let me try something..."
Miranda puts her hand against the rocks and attempts some shapeshifting magic, trying to imitate the liquid form she once saw Sekhmet take. If she can do that, she might be able to flow between the rocks and get to a better exit point, such as the crevasse they came through, and it would be a handy trick to have later.
Of course, it might also be a bit beyond her, but she'll be kicking herself if she doesn't at least try it.
"...You saw more of her recently than I did. Did she ever get that communicator set up?" Miranda asks.
"In that case, our best bet would probably be trying to make contact with her." Miranda says, pointedly averting her gaze from the artifact. She does have some theoretical knowledge that might help with something like teleporting... but using it wrong could dislocate them from the Nexus entirely. Not to mention she has zero means of actually implementing it. "And I'm guessing you don't have an easy answer there, either. Let me try something..."
Miranda puts her hand against the rocks and attempts some shapeshifting magic, trying to imitate the liquid form she once saw Sekhmet take. If she can do that, she might be able to flow between the rocks and get to a better exit point, such as the crevasse they came through, and it would be a handy trick to have later.
Of course, it might also be a bit beyond her, but she'll be kicking herself if she doesn't at least try it.
"...You saw more of her recently than I did. Did she ever get that communicator set up?" Miranda asks.
Who're you? ...Don't matter.
Want some rye? Course ya do!
Here's to us!
Who's like us?
Damn few,
And they're aaaaall dead.
Want some rye? Course ya do!
Here's to us!
Who's like us?
Damn few,
And they're aaaaall dead.
Re: Outside: Grass touch place
[Junkyard]
Mia als remains in her hiding spot, thought she tries to scan the fire truck. It's a bit strange they care about a fire but no fire is here and even with the damage the TARbot copy is not looking like it burns. So Mia will check for the obviouse first, The car plate and if a fire station misses it.
Mia als remains in her hiding spot, thought she tries to scan the fire truck. It's a bit strange they care about a fire but no fire is here and even with the damage the TARbot copy is not looking like it burns. So Mia will check for the obviouse first, The car plate and if a fire station misses it.
Re: Outside: Grass touch place
[Dysphotic Swamp]
"I've got some first-aid stuff in my pack," Khannie says as she pulls out her canteen because chances are this injured person needs some water. Usually people who have been stranded and injured like this are dehydrated so that's a good place to start. Khannie has done some first aid stuff before because first aid is just standard training for anyone wanting to do cape things. Sometimes people get hurt and you're already on the scene so you better know how to help.
Also?
She's got some first aid stuff that she's collected from the neon bunkers that she's visited over the years. Which she already mentioned, just not the part about where the came from. Khannie will offer the water first. And then pull out a... bandage? It looks like a big adhesive medical strip. But somehow high tech in some weirdly hard to define way. Khannie will try to examine the arm to see how bad the wound is. And also to see how she reacts to the smell of that black... goop.
Does it smell like death?
She's going to guess it smells like death.
Also she'll whisper back to Seraphina, "I don't think I've gotta worry as much about zombie stuff as you. Ghosty undead things don't hurt me."
They're still gross, though.
[Neon Forest]
The first of the frog cyborg things proves to be surprisingly resilient, getting swatted away and sent rolling across the ground. Kothar is likely familiar with the feeling of his axe cutting through flesh, but something definitely felt off here. Like he's cutting through a dense weave of fibers rather than simple skin. The creature is still wounded and its motions are slowed when it rises again, but it wasn't simply chopped in half, either. The second target, however, gets its black glass 'crown' shattered and drops like a puppet with its strings cut.
The remaining creatures try to dog-pile Kothar and pummel at him with their fists, proving they they're shockingly strong for their size. Certainly not giant level strength but still quite beefy.
Also?
The golem has finished repairing its 'head' and is now stomping toward our heroes.
"C'mon..." Khannie mutters as she eggs Sirius on.
"I've got some first-aid stuff in my pack," Khannie says as she pulls out her canteen because chances are this injured person needs some water. Usually people who have been stranded and injured like this are dehydrated so that's a good place to start. Khannie has done some first aid stuff before because first aid is just standard training for anyone wanting to do cape things. Sometimes people get hurt and you're already on the scene so you better know how to help.
Also?
She's got some first aid stuff that she's collected from the neon bunkers that she's visited over the years. Which she already mentioned, just not the part about where the came from. Khannie will offer the water first. And then pull out a... bandage? It looks like a big adhesive medical strip. But somehow high tech in some weirdly hard to define way. Khannie will try to examine the arm to see how bad the wound is. And also to see how she reacts to the smell of that black... goop.
Does it smell like death?
She's going to guess it smells like death.
Also she'll whisper back to Seraphina, "I don't think I've gotta worry as much about zombie stuff as you. Ghosty undead things don't hurt me."
They're still gross, though.
[Neon Forest]
The first of the frog cyborg things proves to be surprisingly resilient, getting swatted away and sent rolling across the ground. Kothar is likely familiar with the feeling of his axe cutting through flesh, but something definitely felt off here. Like he's cutting through a dense weave of fibers rather than simple skin. The creature is still wounded and its motions are slowed when it rises again, but it wasn't simply chopped in half, either. The second target, however, gets its black glass 'crown' shattered and drops like a puppet with its strings cut.
The remaining creatures try to dog-pile Kothar and pummel at him with their fists, proving they they're shockingly strong for their size. Certainly not giant level strength but still quite beefy.
Also?
The golem has finished repairing its 'head' and is now stomping toward our heroes.
"C'mon..." Khannie mutters as she eggs Sirius on.
Re: Outside: Grass touch place
[Welmet]
"Hey, you stupid birds." Hiep turns to the crows. "Do we go around telling you how to make eggs? No? Then lay off what we do for fun." She seems a lot more concerned about their criticism of her lifestyle and sexual choices than the impending threat of being devoured by a giant rooster. "Hey, you! Giant cock!" Did she... make a vulgar joke just now? It's really hard to tell. "Do you really want to eat me? I can't possibly be big enough for you." Despite her tone or voice not changing one bit, the rooster will be able to understand her - as much as its intellect allows, but still more so than even a trained animal can understand humans.
"Hey, you stupid birds." Hiep turns to the crows. "Do we go around telling you how to make eggs? No? Then lay off what we do for fun." She seems a lot more concerned about their criticism of her lifestyle and sexual choices than the impending threat of being devoured by a giant rooster. "Hey, you! Giant cock!" Did she... make a vulgar joke just now? It's really hard to tell. "Do you really want to eat me? I can't possibly be big enough for you." Despite her tone or voice not changing one bit, the rooster will be able to understand her - as much as its intellect allows, but still more so than even a trained animal can understand humans.
-
Gold
- Old Fart Poster
- Posts: 367
- Joined: Jul 16, 2022 6:16 pm
- Location: Somewhere in Fort Knox
- Pronouns: He/him
- Contact:
Re: Outside: Grass touch place
[Junkyard]
"...Fine, then. See what happens when you disregard a fucking fire warning." comes the reply after a brief pause.
Then, a figure steps out of the ladder truck and forward, shutting its door behind them. They're wearing a saturated red firefighter's outfit, complete with hard hat but carrying little equipment apart from a high-powered flashlight, flare gun and walkie-talkie. The helmet-screen and red metal hands with long, spindly fingers serve as tell-tale signs that this is a TA-series robot. Most strikingly, a medium-sized turquoise orb of electricity hovers in a circular pattern behind his back.
The robot faces down both skeletal dummies, before raising both arms to point finger guns at the both of them. Almost immediately, a precise beam of heat is fired at both of them, intense enough to thermally cut metal and intending to do so with the material between their eyes & inside their skulls.
As for Mia's checks, the truck isn't stolen and is in fact legally owned by Zeeland himself. The license plate even reads Z33 LAND.
"...Fine, then. See what happens when you disregard a fucking fire warning." comes the reply after a brief pause.
Then, a figure steps out of the ladder truck and forward, shutting its door behind them. They're wearing a saturated red firefighter's outfit, complete with hard hat but carrying little equipment apart from a high-powered flashlight, flare gun and walkie-talkie. The helmet-screen and red metal hands with long, spindly fingers serve as tell-tale signs that this is a TA-series robot. Most strikingly, a medium-sized turquoise orb of electricity hovers in a circular pattern behind his back.
The robot faces down both skeletal dummies, before raising both arms to point finger guns at the both of them. Almost immediately, a precise beam of heat is fired at both of them, intense enough to thermally cut metal and intending to do so with the material between their eyes & inside their skulls.
As for Mia's checks, the truck isn't stolen and is in fact legally owned by Zeeland himself. The license plate even reads Z33 LAND.
-
bc56
- Poster from Beyond the Veil
- Posts: 2774
- Joined: Jul 25, 2022 3:09 pm
- Location: Sector ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha
Re: Outside: Grass touch place
Neon Forest
Ah. They're like zombies - unless you destroy the head, they're very hard to put down for good. Kothar knows about that.
And he can adjust his fighting accordingly. As they dogpile him, he drops down, turning and sweeping at them with his tail in an attempt to trip them up and knock them down. Almost immediately after, he follows up with more blows from his axe, aiming for heads that are hopefully exposed by his maneuver.
Forsaken Cathedral
"She's not very good about using it," Charcoal answers, "And it doesn't get any... What do you call it? Signal? In the Depths." That means there's a chance but not a high one.
Miranda tries another option. A liquid form would be incredibly useful in this situation, but it's unlikely she'd be able to assume such a shape - she has no idea how it feels. From watching Mary's shapeshifting lessons (and maybe participating herself?) she should have picked up by now that it's difficult to take a shape radically different from your normal anatomy. The workaround Sekhmet has been using with Mary is to transform her daughter and then allow her to use that form for a while.
Ah. They're like zombies - unless you destroy the head, they're very hard to put down for good. Kothar knows about that.
And he can adjust his fighting accordingly. As they dogpile him, he drops down, turning and sweeping at them with his tail in an attempt to trip them up and knock them down. Almost immediately after, he follows up with more blows from his axe, aiming for heads that are hopefully exposed by his maneuver.
Forsaken Cathedral
"She's not very good about using it," Charcoal answers, "And it doesn't get any... What do you call it? Signal? In the Depths." That means there's a chance but not a high one.
Miranda tries another option. A liquid form would be incredibly useful in this situation, but it's unlikely she'd be able to assume such a shape - she has no idea how it feels. From watching Mary's shapeshifting lessons (and maybe participating herself?) she should have picked up by now that it's difficult to take a shape radically different from your normal anatomy. The workaround Sekhmet has been using with Mary is to transform her daughter and then allow her to use that form for a while.
Avatar by me! No more outsourcing!