#31
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Davynor chuckles and waves a hand at the name for the otters. "For the moment, I believe calling them River Rats or perhaps Nixies would be better. If we are not careful about naming things after me, my brothers and sisters will think the trip has swelled my head. Though I thank you for your consideration of me in the naming. I also agree that we should be careful to name such mushrooms something that does not invite people to try them. It would be very bad if they did." Though he doesn't seem as upset about it as Brother Francis, his tone is matter-of-fact. "When it comes to getting lost, if you-all are not worried about it, I will not worry about it." The half-elf looked to Fyrian. "And to answer the unspoken question, I can become most animals I have ever seen, including those that fly. I can speak with animals, I can commune with nature itself, I never leave a trail unless I want to, I am handy with a bow, I can see in the dark, woodland creatures cannot cast enchantments over me, I can heal both mundanely and magically...." Davynor's voice trailed off as he tried to think of anything useful to add to the list, ticking them off on his fingers as he did so. It sounded almost like he was relating a list of chores he had been assigned to do rather than any bragging about his abilities. Again the tone was matter-of-fact, and he seemed to take little pride in it, as if he was listing off walking, breathing, chewing while walking, and an assortment of other things anyone should be able to do. "Oh, and which ever direction the ones mapping wish to go, I shall not be far apart from. Though a thought occurs to me. Would it not be good to have both of you map? True, it may be an overlap, but between the two maps we should be able to draw the most accurate picture." The Druid turns an appraising gaze Lexa's way.
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“Holy ****," I breathed. "Hellhounds." "Harry," Michael said sternly. "You know I hate it when you swear." "You're right. Sorry. Holy ****," I breathed, "heckhounds.” ~Harry Dresden and Michael Carpenter, Grave Peril Last edited by FranklinRPer; Jun 27th, 2015 at 01:10 AM. |
#32
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Okay. 'Poison' Candy Apples if you prefer. Also, I've picked up a bit of spells and incantations along my journeys. I have one that I can use on animals to allow them to speak any tongue I desire. I often use it on my wolf companion to allow her to tell me what she's thinking or seen. Gives an interesting perspective to say the least.
And yes, we will most definitely compare notes as we map the area. But again, I must stress the importance of hitting the high ground around here for purposes of mapping.
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Posting Status: Good - Average | If a post is needed from me either as a DM/GM or a player, please PM me. |
#33
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"I do not suppose an of you are able to see images from my mind? I have no such skill myself, but if any of you did, I could observe the area from the air. Or, for that matter, so could Archimedies."
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“Holy ****," I breathed. "Hellhounds." "Harry," Michael said sternly. "You know I hate it when you swear." "You're right. Sorry. Holy ****," I breathed, "heckhounds.” ~Harry Dresden and Michael Carpenter, Grave Peril |
#34
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Day 1 - About 1 o'clock
In addition the bird population increases the further away from the beach that you travel. A wide variety of songbirds flit throughout the tree branches, loosing their calls in cheerful contrast to the dark forest. Two of them stand out in particular. The first is a tiny, brilliant blue bird about as large as your thumb. They seem to remain in the lower branches of the Seraphim Pines, content to swoop down to the forest floor to retrieve small seeds and insects. There is no small amount of them either and they serve as nearly constant companions as you trek inward towards the continental interior. The second is a large black bird that looks much like the ravens common in your homeland. They are of roughly the same size and overall appearance, but this bird produces a call much like a female opera singer; a long, wavering cry that sounds almost identical to a woman's voice. Along with the birds, the forest floor abounds with a variety of insects, including a kind of ant that you have never seen before. It is large for an ant, about the size of your index finger, and it creates colonies not only below ground, but in towering mounds of dirt that they harden through the secretion of some sort of viscous body fluid. The mounds, although difficult to approach due to the ants' unnaturally aggressive tendencies, are as hard as rock. Did I mention they were aggressive? Yeah, they actually chased the party in mass for several hundred yards through the forest when someone ventured too close to one of the mounds. They are not pleasant creatures, but undeniably fascinating. You are about two hours into your journey when you come across the first mammalian species you've encountered, save for the mysterious Nixies in the river. As you walk along you become aware of a presence nearby. At first it is only a vague apprehension, but soon you begin to hear the soft pad of small feet on the pine needles. A flash of brown fur as something flashes from one tree trunk to the next while paralleling your course, is your second clue. This goes on for about thirty minutes before you spot a small, long-snouted face peering speculatively out at you from behind one giant trunk. It approaches Davynor specifically and when it is within a few feet of you, it sits back on its haunches. Looking up at you it lets out several short barks that remind you of a child coughing. The sound seems to surprise the creature as well and it shakes its head in a way that looks curiously like someone trying to express mild confusion. Once again the creature looks up at Davynor and says, "Excuse me! Terribly sorry! I guess it's been longer than I thought since I've used my voice. Greetings friend of the earth! The old ones called me Timsynradfarzanorophinoq, but you may call me Tim. You and your companions do not smell familiar to my people and we were just wondering why you are traipsing through our home?"
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“Fantasy is hardly an escape from reality. It's a way of understanding it.” Last edited by Jonwane; Jun 25th, 2015 at 01:34 AM. |
#35
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Since the creature approached Davynor, Brother Francis will keep silent, watch and listen. If there is one, then there probably are more about. He had expected to meet with humanoid creatures, not four legged ones which could talk. Then again, as Davynor can shape shift, so might this creature and those of its kind. For that matter, he will trust his senses, just not what he sees but what he doesn't see. 'What type of social structure? What type of faith? Who are they? Why are...' these questions and more tried to bombard their way into his mind, but he focused on what was going on around him to answer all the questions that were being fabricated. The smile on his face is a genuine as ever but there is a spark in his eye as this is something that he has never done before, made first contact with a new intelligent race. Those stupid bureaucrats back home. If they would just get off their high horse and break out of their self-imposed box, maybe they would be here to witness and experience this.
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"I tried being reasonable, I didn't like it" |
#36
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Making the way up the River, Nailfin keeps an eye out for animals they might find and is not disappointing. The small blue birds are so small that they resemble an insect more than a bird. 'Butterfly Birds' he calls them. The other larger bird he simply calls 'Singing Raven', as they were so close to the type of raven's he knew, the simply addition of an adjective made their naming easy. As he gave each the name that came to him, Nailfin pointed out the animal, spoke aloud the name, then looked to the group for confirmation if they agreed or not. He was happy to give suggestions, but did not wan't to take full responsibility for what to call them. The ants were more of a nascence. While being chased, the desire to instantly kill these ants had crossed his mind, but Nailfin respected the natural life enough to avoid acting on such a notion. They were after all invading on the ant's territory. Had they instead come in invading the party's camp, he would have not hesitate to take action. "Grouchy little pissers, aren't they?" he comments to the group after they had final escaped the parade of ants chasing them off. Then came a new surprise, a talking mammal. It didn't seem enchanted, so perhaps it actually was intelligent enough to speak. It had approached Davynor, but Nailfin had no qualms about responding to the beasts inquire. "We have come from afar to explore the region and learn of those living here. But you are correct, we are definitely friends of the earth. You mentioned 'the old ones', Tim. What do you mean by that? "
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Contact: dmbhelogan@gmail.com
All are welcome to participate in: AI Spy With My Little Eye (An Art-ificial Intelligence Image Generation Game) |
#37
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Lexa lopes up beside her wolf companion as they run from the ants. Reading the shewolf's body language tells her that she won't be coming back this way for sure. She notes the trees, the birds, and finally the strange creature calling itself Tim. She doesn't say anything as the odd looking catdog is speaking to Davynor, but she does look to her wolf companion once more. She can't wait until the break for camp this evening so she can impart the magical gift of speech to the shewolf and get her take on things.
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Posting Status: Good - Average | If a post is needed from me either as a DM/GM or a player, please PM me. |
#38
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Davynor smiles warmly at the birds and whistles and warbles, imitating their calls until he has them down pat. The Druid will walk, for the time being, with his hood down and clearly visible. So far they've not run into any trouble and the young-looking Half-Elf seems comfortable in this place. When the party wandered too close to the mound and had to retreat, Davynor squared off against them to draw their attention to him, figuring that they would react as most territorial insects did. He also knew that of the group, he was the most capable of escaping harm swiftly should it come to that, so rearguard duty was no difficult choice for him. A little ways down along, Davynor began to notice the presence of the long-face creature. It seemed inquisitive and not-a-little shy, so for the time being he didn't call attention to it. It wasn't hurting them and he didn't feel the sensation of being stalked as prey from it, so he held no fear. Once it made it's way out of the foliage though, Davynor sat down cross-legged in front of it, the better to speak at Tim's level. His posture matched Tim's, roughly. "Well-met, Tim. I am called Davynor. These are my companions: Brother Francis, Nailfin, Rillion, Mathew, Lexa, Shewolf, Fyrian, and above us is Archemedies." As each is named, he motioned politely to indicate the person or animal. "We are explorers from a far away land, here to see what wonders this place holds. Your land is very beautiful Tim, and very lively. Full of such wonderful and, to us, strange sights." He lets a little bit of the awe of the place seep into his voice. "Are there many of your people about Tim? You are the first one we have seen and we are glad to have met with you. Hopefully you do not take offense that we have come."
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“Holy ****," I breathed. "Hellhounds." "Harry," Michael said sternly. "You know I hate it when you swear." "You're right. Sorry. Holy ****," I breathed, "heckhounds.” ~Harry Dresden and Michael Carpenter, Grave Peril Last edited by FranklinRPer; Jun 29th, 2015 at 09:05 PM. |
#39
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Day 1 - 1:30PM
"It's cool." He says and you're not quite sure if he's referring to the air temperature, or if it is some sort of foreign dialect. "There's enough of the forest to share and so far you don't seem to be destructive or disrespectful. The trees told us that you were coming as soon as they spotted your ship on the horizon. It's been a long time since anyone has come across the sea. So long in fact, that only the most ancient of the grove knew the name for your sailing device." An insect buzzes by Tim's face and he snaps at it, missing. The insect buzzes around drunkenly and Tim seems to go into a momentary frenzy as he attempts to capture and/or eat the creature. It continues to evade him, however, and he chases it up onto a tree limb, is forced to leap to another, and finally snags the buzzing fly in one tiny fist, narrowly escaping a fall from the limb. Greedily he stuffs the insect into his mouth and chews with his eyes closed, clearly relishing the well won morsel. After a moment he opens his eyes and blinks at you. "So sorry!" He says. "How rude to bring outsiders into our politics, but she was just taunting me! She knew that hostilities had been suspended temporarily while we met with you." He hops back down onto the ground and returns to his seat in front of Davynor. "As we were saying, before we were so rudely interrupted..!" He raises his voice and makes a point of peering around the forest. "No one on the Council has any problem with you being here as long as you are just visiting. This land is already claimed by a various number of factions and any attempt of a foreign invasion fleet will be met most harshly. We just thought you should know that." He uses his hind leg to scratch briefly behind one ear. "As long as you accept that, do not harm any living thing here, except in self defense or survival, and remain neutral in our current conflict, you may journey throughout this land for as long as you wish." "You should also be aware, though, that there are things in this region that are beyond even the control of the Council. Furthermore, I would be remiss if I did not inform you that you were headed right towards them." He points in a direction vaguely upstream in the direction you had been traveling. "They live in the ruins of the Old Ones, a days journey from here." He looks over at Nailfin. "The Old Ones were the people who lived here long ago before even the Overseer had sprouted. They were two-legs, like you, and they exploited the natural world to gain their power. Obviously that didn't work out too well for them in the end and now all that is left is their stone castles. There are still two-legs that live in those castles and consider this region of Boolyabay to be theirs." His naming of the continent as Boolyabay is the first concrete proof that you've encountered to confirm your suspicions that this is indeed that mythical land. "It would be well advised that you travel south for a few days before attempting to travel inland." Tim says. "They are an extremely hostile people and clearly insane. No one can negotiate with them and the boundary between their territory and the rest of the wild is one of the most dangerous places in the land." He looks back to Davynor. "As for my people, we are here and there. We prefer the warmth of the southern reaches, but myself and a few others are always in the area, especially these days."
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“Fantasy is hardly an escape from reality. It's a way of understanding it.” |
#40
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Fyrian takes out his journal and scribbles some names onto it. When Tim is describing the island, he listens intently. Inwardly he wonders how much of a threat the little marsupial could be. Then again, you never think that kobolds could be much of threat, and yet their vast numbers make them a force to be reckoned with. Additionally, Tim and his people seem to be quite intelligent. Were they the ones that killed the Dwarven party? Or was it these Old Ones he's mentioning? Or perhaps just the natural hazards of Boolybay. When Tim mentions the trees, Fyrian nods his head looking at the others with a smile. "I believe we have a winner," he mutters, subconsciously. Realizing that he just said that out loud, he clears his throat. "I have a question, if I may. And...(looking at the others) feel free to add to it as you see fit." He pauses and then continues. "There was another party of adventurers that came here a while back and they were never heard of again. Do you know of their fate?" Last edited by Yves; Jun 27th, 2015 at 04:02 PM. |
#41
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Tim shakes his head as he watches Fyrian. Your party is the first that I've personally heard of." He says. "But it's possible that whoever you're looking for could've landed somewhere else. If they came ashore much further to the north, they would be in great danger."
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“Fantasy is hardly an escape from reality. It's a way of understanding it.” Last edited by Jonwane; Jun 29th, 2015 at 04:11 PM. |
#42
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"What danger up north? By whom? More insane two-legged humanoids?" Brother Francis quickly asks. His mind tries to remember anything he can about the mythical land Boolyabay. There is definitely more than meets the eye about this place and its residents.
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"I tried being reasonable, I didn't like it" |
#43
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Lexa keeps her place, and her peace while Tim is around. She will wait until he is gone before speaking up. "I've said it once, and it bears repeating. We can map a whole lot of this area from high ground. Also, those two-legged humanoids should be our first priority. After all, we can't very well report back rumors about such things. We would need to see first hand what our new friend Tim is referring to.
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Posting Status: Good - Average | If a post is needed from me either as a DM/GM or a player, please PM me. |
#44
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"I want to point out something that crossed my mind. Tim..." To Brother Francis it was strange calling a creature with four legs that can talk a humanoid name, "...state that there were crazed two-legged creatures like us. Think back on the last expeditions report. They stated they met cannibalistic Elves and other beautiful humanoids. I would surmise that the 'crazed humanoids' are probably our Elves. And my recommendation would be to avoid them at all cost."
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"I tried being reasonable, I didn't like it" Last edited by theclaytster; Jun 29th, 2015 at 02:23 PM. |
#45
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Tim eyeballs Brother Francis. "Aye", he says, "But not more two-legs. The same ones. They control much of the northeastern portion of this land. And they do consume man-flesh, but I don't know if they are elves. That is a term I am not familiar with."
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“Fantasy is hardly an escape from reality. It's a way of understanding it.” |
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