Furrae Chronicles: Webs of Destiny (IC) [M] {3}

[Aisha deCabre]

Aisha stood back for a moment and watched the others as they made up their minds on who was going or staying.  So far it seemed like the majority agreed with Gareeku, although Gabi and Jakob had reasonable doubts.  Who knew if this was a side trip, or if it was really going to lead them closer towards their goal...but if something happened to the ship's crew, they weren't going anywhere at all unless they would have to learn some quick sailing.

Well, we'll never know unless we try.

As much as she didn't like to admit, even their once-adversaries seemed to have the idea, although they seemed to be rushing right out on the gangplank.  James was the last one to volunteer to come along, almost surprisingly, his having been fairly quiet recently.  "Good to have you with us," the panther nodded.

Looking out over the water and onto the desolate landscape, there was still doubt floating in her mind as well...perhaps as it was for everyone.

[James StarRunner]

James nodded at Aisha. It felt good that although they were both competitors in the bounty hunter business, that he still felt welcome. Not only with Aisha, but most of the group with the newest of the group being the only exceptions.

"Honestly, I didn't know if I should stay or not. We'd be leaving the boat pretty vulnerable with most of us leaving." James tapped the headset he wore. "So I set up an audio transmitter on the boat just in case."

James looked out on the island. While it looked ominous, this was no time to be shaken or paranoid. Fear leads to mistakes. Kicking off from the railing, James somersaulted off the boat and into the shallows.

[Tapewolf]

Jakob stared at James for a few moments.  "I suppose that might be an idea," he said.  "On the other hand, if things do go bad on the boat, we might just end up knowing about it without being in a position to help.

"Nonetheless, I shall accompany our little shoring party."  As the Angel left in his own peculiar manner, Jakob hefted his backpack and made for the gangplank.

[Stygian]

Ignatz merely watched the others as they made up their minds, then cocked an eyebrow at James' impromptu acrobatics. Shrugging and sighing to himself, he walked over toward a rope ladder near one of the landing boats. The others could wet their feet or swim to the shore if they wanted. If he'd have wanted a tropical tour... Wasn't it supposed to go dark soon?

[Cogidubnus]

"Just a reminder." Cog said, smiling. "You seem a gentle soul, is all. But although you've got your sword with you, don't leave it behind on the boat, yeah?" Cog bowed slightly to the vixen, and turning back made his way down the gangplank and onto land.

[Gareeku]

Waiting for the discussions on the matter at hand to finish, Gareeku glanced out at the mist-shrouded island in front of them. The feeling that something was wrong; the aura of gloom and sadness that everyone could feel lingered and refused to go away. The fact that the captain and some of the crew were willing to step onto the island an investigate also troubled the white-furred wolf greatly; one of the reasons why he was keen to join them in orider to keep an eye on them.

Turning back to the others, he found that the discussion were more or less finished, and that a couple of the group's members had decided to go after the small group of staff which had now left the ship.
"It looks like a decision has been made, then." Gareeku commented, before turning to walk across the gangplank after Jakob.

Stepping upon the island, the mist seemed to get even worse as soon as their feet touched the firm soil. As well as this, a wind that blew momentarily had picked up, and yet the mist did not move at all. What they could see ahead was what appeared to be an area of grassland, with a crude pathway that looked like it had been formed by simply ripping the grass out of the ground. On the pathway, members of the group would be able to see faint footprints leading away.
"Well, at least we know whether the captain and his collegues have gone..." Gareeku muttered, before beginning to walk along the path.

If one were to walk down the pathway for about 5-10 minutes or so, they would also soon see the faint silouettes of buildings nearby, as well as what almost seemed like faint whispers in the wind.

(OOC: While writing this post I was listening to a bit of ambience. Namely, number 45 on the list on this page (It's near the bottom of the list on that page), so if you'd like to listen to it while in this area of the rp, then by all means go ahead. Adds to the atmosphere in my opinion)

[Aisha deCabre]

Aisha expressed her relief with a sigh as the decision was made to leave the boat without much more debate.  She followed behind Gareeku and the others on the gangplank while keeping her eyes on the fog in front of them.

A shudder crept up her back as soon as her pads stepped upon the soil, harsh and weathered, while the wind added to the effect.  It was as if the land itself, and the pattern of the weather, were both greeting the newcomers with intimidation.  Be on your guard, said the wind...watch your step, said the mist...here you should go, said the path.  The fresh footprints on the grass-pulled trail seemed to be the trustworthy thing to follow.  Aisha kept up, fingers kept near the weapons on her belt as she brought her hood up.

"Where are we...?" the panther muttered, wondering that for the hundredth time and feeling like she wanted to break the silence before it was filled by more uncertain sounds in the mist.  The snap of a twig, the rustling of the grass...and the whispers that came to their ears when the first shadowy buildings came into sight.  Somehow, she'd be surprised to find if anyone actually lived there.

[James StarRunner]

James snickered inwardly to himself at Jakob's comment about the possibility about not being able to help the boat. If you say so Mr. Teleport...

Pulling out a fine yew bow and dull cloak, he readied himself for what may lay ahead. Leaping into the vegetation, James cloaked himself in his surroundings and disappeared.

[Mel Dragonkitty]

Following along behind Mel didn't like anything about the island. The unnatural quality appeared designed to discomfort, which only made her more suspicious of the whole situation. At least the somber mood of the island had infected the others and put them in a serious professional mood.

[Gabi]

Gabi was relieved when she heard what James had done. At least now she wouldn't have to worry about not finding the boat again should someone else take it. A lot of things could still happen, but that was one less possibility to worry about. She was about to comment on this, when James sommersaulted his way out of the ship. Show off, she thought, but she smiled. After all the stress he'd been going through, he had the right to have some fun.

Cog's reply didn't mean much to her, not that she'd expected it to. But if he didn't want to say anything, then she wouldn't press the issue. She had lots of other things to worry about, and Cog, while strange and mysterious, seemed harmless enough not to be one of her main concerns at that moment.

She left the boat right behind the others, and followed the group. She still had a bad feeling about the place, but she comforted herself in the thought that she was not alone in that. For all she knew, that place might have been specifically set to creep everyone out.

She held her sword firmly, wondering if she'd be able to use it correctly in a real life or death situation, and hoping that she wouldn't have to find out too soon. Well, I still have my old tricks in case that one fails, she told herself. And the others are here, they can help too. She did her best to calm herself down, but for some reason it wasn't working very well.

[Stygian]

It took about two minutes of wandering and looking around, the group making their way onto the island and down the path, before the bat rejoined them, appearing at no certain point and in no certain way, just falling in behind them. Catching a last glimpse of an eerily skulking James before the Angel disappeared, Ignatz flashed a brief but noticeable expression of annoyance, and then looked to the others, before sighing and turning his gaze down, walking on, apparently not mindful of anything in particular.
   When the murky signs of what appeared to be some settlement up ahead finally came into view, the bat did not react at first. The moment they were close enough though, and the hints of whispering started, he sighed and groaned. 'Of all the cursed...' he said, in an agonized manner. 'If this is a haunted village, I swear I'll shoot myself. I already did that this year. And twice the one before that.'
   Plainly, if Ignatz thought he was being funny, he was not.

[Tapewolf]

"Hmm," Jakob said, peering at the faint outlines of the buildings.  "Reckon there's anyone home?"

If not, they wouldn't be the first to have disappeared, he thought grimly.  But so far this does seem far removed from the modus operandi of our chief enemies.  I hope it doesn't prove too long a distraction.  With a shiver he tried not to think of the tales he'd read in his youth of people who walked into the mist and vanished.  Don't be daft.  It's probably just fog.  But the whispering...

To distract himself he cast out his mind, hoping to catch a thought from the crew.  If the town was a modern one with concrete paving, the footprints would soon dry up and other means of tracking would be necessary.

[Sunblink]

Unlike (apparently) Ignatz, Keaton had minimal experience when it came to supposedly haunted villages, and was left quizzically staring at her fog-saturated surroundings, eyeing the distant silhouettes of the dilapidated buildings like they were suddenly going to lurch to life and attack her. Given the current evolutions and discoveries which were being made in magic, Keaton wouldn't be terribly surprised if some overly ambitious Demon conjured up a spell for the purpose of controlling buildings. At this point she was just being paranoid, but who could blame her? This place was fucking creepy.

Keaton withdrew Catastrophe from its holster on her back, leveling Catastrophe's head to the ground. At its close proximity, the spikes encrusting Catastrophe's head barely grazed the earth. What is this? Some kind of ghost town? Keaton wondered. Ghost towns, Keaton actually had experience in. She recalled taking sanctuary in some of the derelict and mildewed buildings in the ghost towns she encountered - considering she was, by all intents and purposes, a drifter, it was the most appropriate shelter she could find at the time. Sometimes she had to improvise.

~Keaton the Black Jackal

[Gareeku]

Eyeing the silouettes in the distance, Gareeku's eyes narrowed as he heard Ignatz's remarks. It seemed that he had been to a few interesting places. Ears twitching as he heard the faint whispers in the wind, the wolf's eyes glanced from side to side, taking in the scenery that could actually be seen, which wasn't exactly much.

Walking on as he followed the footsteps, Gareeku saw that the foot prints seemed to get fainter as he moved further along the path. This was partly due to the ground underground becoming firming and less moist, but there was also something else that seemed to almost replace the footprints. Specks of some sort sprinkled here and there along the path. Examining them closer, one would find that those specks were a dark liquid; blood.

As Keaton gripped her weapon, looking at the silouettes in the distance, something shimmered in the mist ahead, before abruptle disappearing. However, no sooner had she seen this had she felt something; a feeling like somone was running a finger along the tops of her shoulders and the back of her neck, before feeling someone, or something breathe into her ear.

Keaton was not the only one who experience something like this; Gabi would also feel a finger running along the side of her face, while other members of the group such as Jakob, Ignatz, James and Mel would able to see the faint outlines of figures in the mist, almost as if they were made of the mist itself, before abruptly disappearing. Gabi in particular would also see a face of one of these figures; a face of pain and despair, though the species was hard to figure out. Noticing these things happening, Gareeku grimaced, his hand firmly his weapon.

[James StarRunner]

Remaining as perfectly stealthy as he could, James grimaced. This does not bode well... Whether the ghostly images were in fact ghosts or some form of trickery, he did not know. Either way though, it meant something was afoot. From the near tangible aura the island possessed, it would seem that these apparitions were in fact real ghosts.

James gripped his yew bow tightly and wondered for a moment if even this enchanted weapon could work on those who were incorporeal. Dang it all... Pulling off his gloves, he felt his wings return. If he had to, he would use his angelic heritage to put the undead to rest.

It wasn't clear yet if the ghosts caused the blood to spill (which didn't seem likely to him) or if they were going to oppose the party. James nocked an arrow, but did not fire. He would press on first and find out more before he revealed his location.

[Aisha deCabre]

Aisha had suppressed a bit of irritation at the bat's words before...for if there wasn't anything closer to a blatant disrespect for perhaps the ghost town that it was, that was certainly close.  Of course, it only hit home the most to the panthress because her own village was just as abandoned.  Only this place only felt so, being quiet and with only the murk and mist for company.

Nor had her home felt as plainly creepy either.

The silhouettes came closer, almost seeming to descend upon the group instead of the reality that they were the ones approaching.  With each step, the footprints they followed were disappearing from the path.  Gratefully, the footfalls of the others were breaking the utter silence; if anyone with the most stoic composure were to have been left alone in such a place, with illusions darting about and other things for their heads to imagine, certainly they would go completely crazy after a while.

Especially when they actually saw droplets of blood every so often...the huntress knew the dried, black-crimson colors of entrails when she saw them.  It only made her grip tighten all the harder on the Dragonblade's ornate hilt.

The apparitions hadn't gone unnoticed by Aisha, especially when she would feel the tension of the group members in response.  The muscles in her legs and shoulders seemed to bunch on their own volition in case of a fight.

I hope we're getting the hell out of here if the blood of the captain and crew are among the ones on the ground, she thought.  Instead of saying that out loud however, she muttered something when another fleeting mist-being caught her eye...something like a prayer-command, a habit picked up from her mentor just to set her mind at ease.  "Ve en paz, descansan en paz, pero no nos molesten."  ("Go in peace, rest in peace, but don't bother us.")

After all, ghosts could only chill, and not hurt.  Couldn't they?

[Sunblink]

Keaton realized her vigilance was starting to pay off as she noticed the two, empyreal silhouettes wafting imperceptibly in the distance, their diaphanous forms trickling and tapering into the misty air. Their impalpable presences only momentarily remained; in the next moment, just as Keaton felt herself blink from surprise, they were gone, having taken advantage of her temporary blindness to disappear. Keaton scowled venomously, squeezing Catastrophe tightly again, until she felt her knuckles rise and strain in knobby bulges against the skintight material of her leather gauntlets. The oddly-opaque, obsidian armguards layering her gauntlets scraped and clinked together like neatly-arranged plates of shadowy chitin.

She was troubled by this phenomenon. The Undead was hardly an uncommon occurrence in Furrae, but ghosts? Just as Keaton was about to turn around to alert Gareeku, she felt something smooth glide down her skin, a hairsbreadth away from the fibers of her fur.  She felt that same, ephemeral touch trail across her shoulders and neck, surprisingly intrusive yet not perverse. Then Keaton felt someone breathe into her ear and hissed loudly, swinging her body around with her elbow protruded outward and her fist clenched, ready to drive her elbow into the stomach of any offending entities.

From where Keaton stood, her elbow merely slashed through the air harmlessly, merely distorting the mist surrounding her into tangled wreaths from where her arm passed through the mist. There was no one there, and Keaton was at the back of the group, having fallen behind in her inaction. She glanced back and forth, pupils pinpricked and ears lowered, gritting her teeth, and then sprinted ahead, not wanting to be left behind. Not many living people knew this, but Keaton spooked easily.

~Keaton the Black Jackal

[Tapewolf]

Jakob was somewhat disturbed.  In the 900-odd years he had lived, he had never come across a mode of death quite like this.  There were stories of ghosts, of course, but he had never actually met any, or heard any reliable reports of such.

"Hello?" called out softly.  "Is there anything we can do for you?"

[Gabi]

Gabi was startled when he felt a finger run down her cheek. She had been expecting someone to show up eventually, but not someone who could touch her before she could even detect his (or her) presence. She looked and sniffed around, trying to find out if there was someone or something material behind this, but couldn't find anything. It was then that she saw the face.

Gabi couldn't make out who or what the face belonged to, but it filled her with a profound sadness. Whoever its owner was, he or she -not even that was quite clear- seemed to be suffering greatly. She wished there was something she could do to help, wondering if any of the spells she knew would work on a ghost. She'd never seen one before, she hadn't even been sure of whether they existed or not, but she'd heard stories just like everyone else. Stories of both known and unknown origins, which often contradicted each other and had never come from reliable sources.

What could she do? What was it that the ghosts needed anyway? If they were, in fact, ghosts. They could be the effects of a spell, but in that case it would have to be a very good one, as she couldn't detect any traces of magic.

Or it could be an illusion spell, she thought. One that affects our ability to detect magic as well as our physical senses. If that were the case I could do something to break free from it, but I might get in trouble for that... Or I could just ask them what they need and keep the other option as a backup plan.

While she was considering her options, Jakob asked the question. She relaxed a bit. Now she could wait for the reply before deciding what to do.

[Mel Dragonkitty]

Mel scanned the fog, being just a little startled when the mist seemed to coalesce into figures. While ghost was the first thing that jumped to mind she shook that off and debated between spell effect or really exotic mythos. The presence of blood inclined her towards spell and a living source. She gently sent out feelers to see if she could determine which choice was correct.

[Stygian]

Irritatedly, Ignatz rubbed his temple, while his right hand went to his hip under his coat, thumbing one of his oversized pistols. As silly a gesture as it might have seemed, there was not much else that he could do. It was plainly evident that something had the village in its grip. The question still remained though, what and why. Personally though, he had already filed this occurrence as 'hindrance', an obstruction that he could do little save endure.
   Perfunctorily, he corrected himself, while recounting the ammunition he had on him to himself. He could probably have done something about this, but not under these circumstances. It made him want to throw caution and care overboard and just get things done instead.
   'Watch out for anything unusual', he said, almost under his breath, still thumbing his gun. 'I mean, besides the mist. And if it shows signs of thickening anywhere, stay away from it. Things that look anything like this rarely aim for the flesh, which makes them all the more dangerous...'

[Cogidubnus]

Tail flipping slowly from side to side behind him, just barely brushing the ground as the iaidoka walked softly in the mist. If the spirits concerned him, he showed no signs of it, but merely followed the party with one hand draped over the hilt of his blade, his gaze hidden by shadowed lenses.

[Paladin Sheppard]

Trailing the group Ephrael clutched her bow to her chest and muttered to herself "This is reeeealy creepy..."

[Gareeku]

With his glancing from side to side, Gareeku observed the mist-figures.
"They are not here to harm us." the wolf said quietly as he watched them...watched the blurred looks of sadness and despair on their faces. "They do not wish to be here at all, that much is obvious."

When Jakob spoke out, he did not receive an answer. The whispers carried by the wind continued; indecipherable whispers that followed the group as they continued onwards. When Mel sent out 'feelers', she would find...nothing. Nothing to suggest it was a spell. Nothing to suggest there was a living being...just...nothing.

"We should get moving." Gareeku said, before beginning to continue onwards, his eyes on the trail of dried blood on the ground.

Before long, the group had entered the town. The looming grey buildings rose up above them on either side of the street. Still the mist lingered. Still the whispers were heard all around them. There was no one in the town the group now found themselves in. Absolutely no one.

"I don't like this at all." the white wolf growled softly, his hand now back on the hilt of the katana at his waist as he spoke. "Hopefully the captain and his crew members will be around here somewhe-"

He didn't have to say anything more. As he spoke, Gareeku happened to look off the side and spotted something. On the ground a few metres away to the right, was a pool of dark crimson blood. From the pool there was a trail of it leading off into the mist, like something had been dragged away. In the middle of that pool of blood lay an object. Looking closer, one could easily see what it was; what remained of a severed arm, along with the tattered remains of a crewman's uniform.

[Aisha deCabre]

Normally, it took a lot to give Aisha the creeps.  Nobody ever snuck up on her...she was the one who always did the sneaking.  If a target felt that they had eyes on their back, those were her eyes.  It was her weapon at the ready.  It was her silent draw.

But now, that was quite different.  One never knew what was hiding out in the mist, covering the land around them so that any noticeable features would simply crawl out of the shadows.  Her ears perked when she heard Gareeku's voice, regarding the spirits around them with their saddened, agonized expressions.  If they don't wish to be here...  Aisha wondered, feeling a small sort of pity for them, why is it that they cannot leave?

The town looked to have little in the way of answers.  The buildings were nondescript, the streets hollow of living voices, the continuous whispering of spirits from the wind the only other presence to the group.

Aisha's grip held on her weapon, looking around as she kept up with the group.  But no sooner had Gareeku interrupted himself, did she follow his gaze.  The sudden sight made the panthress gasp, raising a hand to her mouth...a severed arm, a pool of crimson, and the familiar pattern of a uniform, all in plain sight.

"...Crap...Crap!" she growled and slid her sword out of its sheath.  "We're not dealing with anything friendly.  Should we follow the blood?"

[Tapewolf]

"Oh shit," Jakob said, and turned away from the mess.  His voice came out slightly strangled.  "I don't give much for his chances with... with that kind of blood loss.  If the others are like that, there's not much we'll be able to do for them."

Aisha spoke up, echoing his own unspoken question.  He glanced to face her.
"Following the blood may leave us in that state too."

"Let's think.  In the worst case... if the captain and his immediate subordinates are dead, we'll have to commandeer the ship ourselves.  Indeed, it would serve us well to turn back now so that we can set sail before whatever did... that... comes for us."  He paused.

"But if there are any survivors, it would be criminal to leave them when they might be saved.  And if not, well... they deserve a decent burial."

He turned back to Gareeku.  "What should we do?"

[Stygian]

As he walked along, keeping close behind the rest, apparently either ignoring the spectral figures' presence or not discomforted by it at all, Ignatz's black gaze was mostly unreadable, until he caught whiff of a very familiar and, to him, very enticing scent. That made a little green gleam light up somewhere in his eyes for a second, and slipped a more focused expression onto his face. Slowly stepping up, he regarded the blood and severed limb for just a moment, unconsciously licking his lips and quelling the urge to let a more vicious expression take hold.
   'Tala om handfallen...'*, he remarked in some language the others had trouble understanding, voice even chillier and deeper somehow with the other accent he adopted for a moment. 'Arma krake...'** he said next, stifling a snicker and keeping his face level instead. Turning to Aisha first, then to Jakob as he spoke, he shook his head and regarded them both.
   'I'd be against that, personally, unless you are positive that we can handle whatever did that,' he said. 'Look closer at the blood. They can't have gotten here much faster than us, but the blood is dry, and not spattered. There's just enough in that pool to be from that arm alone. But there are no other traces of struggle or violence around. That means that whatever did this could kill one of the crewmen off just like that, probably pinning him to the ground even while others were around. Or, even more likely, it brought him here or chased him down after it had disposed of the others in a more 'clean' manner, and then ripped his arm off and dragged him away, leaving a trail for us.'
   The bat silenced for a few seconds, and looked between Aisha, Jakob and Gareeku, each in turn, as if to make sure that they had followed his explanation. He wasn't going to tell them that his quick conclusion came from firsthand experience. And not on part on the one observing the trap...
   'I'm not entirely against following it, of course. Just, not directly along the red trail...'

[Gabi]

For a moment, Gabi felt nauseous. It was probably the smell of the blood and the sight of the severed arm in addition to all the tension already present. She wished she could be somewhere else. Almost anywhere else. But she gathered strength to compose herself. She hadn't wanted to come here in the first place, but she wasn't going to go back alone. Firstly, she wouldn't leave the group if they decided to keep going, and second, whatever had done that could be anywhere and she didn't want to be alone if it found her.

"Why did they come here anyway?," she questioned once more. "We don't know who or what we're dealing with, who we're trying to help or even why. Can we at least stop and try to come up with a plan before we keep walking into the unknown? Either that or go back to the ship. I'm not keen on the idea of leaving innocents behind, but we don't know for a fact that there are any here."

[James StarRunner]

James kept his bow at the ready. The crew wasn't that far ahead of them and yet, he didn't hear any sort of attack or even a single scream. If whoever attacked the crew was still near, they may already be aware of the party's presence. James remained out of sight and listened on his headset for any change upon the boat.

[Mel Dragonkitty]

Mel only glanced at the ripped off arm. It was unimportant except as a warning. She was more disturbed by the fact that she could sense no magic and no life signs in the immediate vicinity. "I would have to agree with Miss Gabi regarding having a plan. Whatever did this is a top of the line predator: quiet, efficient, and fast. Stumbling about in the fog is not the path to survival."

She kept quiet her thoughts that while there were good fighters in the group the only predator they had as a countermeasure was Ignatz. She decided to stand a little closer to the bat.