Horizon Walkers (Game Thread) Dead

[IFS]

Myrreh listened carefully to the others introductions, herbologist was hardly a title, though the strange ability Nettil seemed to possess to animate plants was something to keep in mind. Two of them rejected titles, in the case of the scaly woman it seemed a reaction to being outcast, while Iuratus seemed too proud to rely on them. Then there was the professor, a rare but respected position she supposed, and lastly the princess. Myrreh rather doubted that she was such, the city had a few such figures and they were rarely seen in public let alone in the forest surrounded by strangers, as indeed some of the other strangers seemed surprised by this title. A lie? Or was the supposed princess an outcast, or otherwise visited by unfortunate circumstances. As she hopped off of the root Myrreh considered all of this carefully as she made note of the additional stranger rushing towards them, fleeing from some creature or another.

Once the newcomer, another scale covered creature, began shrieking she gave the matter slightly more attention. The creature he was fleeing from didn't look particularly threatening, though the princess, Jensa she reminded herself, seemed interested in it.

"Hello. Mind if we talk a little before we fight?"

"It is outnumbered," she commented, "instinct should dictate that it retreats."

There were few enough predators that would take on such numbers as her family alone, even another hunter of the city would hesitate and she knew her brothers and sisters of the hunt were far more relentless than a common predator. The creature hadn't seemed large enough to require such a glut of prey either, not all at once at least. Perhaps it might stalk them for a time, but unless it was particularly voracious she doubted it would attack now.

 

[DarkRawen]

Iuratus listened, patiently, for the rest to introduce themselves.

"Lucia Draken. Much like Iuratus, I've been given, or earned many titles I've no taste for using, but if you truly need one, 'Captain' will do, as that was my rank in my nations military before they betrayed me."

"I am sorry to hear that as well, Lucia Draken," he said, speaking after the very polite woman. Ai, her name was. "Betrayal is one of the greatest evils there is." He wondered what the rest of the story was, but it was not his place. Besides, their attention was soon brought to someone just as scaly, but smaller than this dragon-like woman.

"GIANT SPIDER ON MY ASS KILL IT!"

Why would it attack? Was it threatened, perhaps? Or is it intending to kill?

The life of someone who could think and act was a little more important than that of a spider, but if it was just defending itself, perhaps there was another solution.

"Have you considered maybe not shooting at it? Hello. Mind if we talk a little before we fight?"

Spiders do not normally talk.

 

[Lunar Templar]

"I am sorry to hear of your betrayal honored Lung-Born."

"I am sorry to hear that as well, Lucia Draken, Betrayal is one of the greatest evils there is."

both Ai and Iuratus said. It's was kinda odd to get sympathy, but she wasn't gonna turn her nose up at it. "Indeed it is. But the story will have to wait for better surroundings" She said, and almost as if on que, some one came running through the brush, yelling about a spider.

the group then discussed what to do about said spider. Lucia thought on this for a moment. "If the spider attacks we deal with it, other wise I see no reason to kill it." she said after a few moments.

 

[Josh123914]

Nettil gazed towards the destroyed settlement, thinking about what may be inside the handful of ruined buildings. Some of the houses were perched up high on stilts, while others had solid brick foundations. The buildings themselves surrounded a large artificial pond, with water that had an almost luminous glow to it.
Out from a bush popped another traveller, screaming about a giant spider.

"Show yourself you disgusting monster!"

Nettil walked towards the man, pulling him back onto his feet. "It's okay, we're friendly." she told him, ensuring she make eye contact while doing so. Nettil then looked up towards the bush and saw a faint rustling, so she did what she could to open up the area. She took steps towards the bush and thrusted her arms sidewards. The jungle cleared rapidly, revealing a spider that was nearly her height sitting on a low-hanging branch.

Nettil let out a cry of terror as its clicky mandibles let out a horrific "REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE" noise, and Nettil barely had enough time to back away and conjure a chest-height cobblestone wall between herself and the spider before it pounced at her.
Nettil slumped down on the wall and looked to the group. Except when she checked behind her, she saw that a second spider was scuttling towards them from the settlement, the element of surprise seemingly something foreign to that beast.
To add to this, the cat carcass was gone, and instead a third Spider appeared in that direction to make matters worse.
"Well? Kill them!?" she urged the group.

Looking over her wall Nettil frantically punched the air. Vines sprouted from the ground and the trees to paralyze the first Spider. One or two caught the monster's leg, but it saw no signs of slowing, and shot a gunk of acid at her wall, turning the very cobblestones Nettil relied on for protection to a grey paste.

 

[booksv3]

Moving back from the one who had helped him up Hissa frowns at it as it makes eye contact and tries to sooth him, muttering in his own mind.
I am not an animal to be soothed.

Watching as the person who had moved him goes forward to raise a stone wall after seeing the spider he grunts in surprise at the power it displays, something powerful if he saw right. As it screamed in a high voice and hunkered down behind the stone wall it had formed it pointed at something behind everyone and yelled again. Something about... THEM?!

Spinning on his heels and pulling the arrow he already had notched on his bow Hissa narrows his eyes and lets out a hissing breath as the motion pulls on his wounds. Pausing before releasing the arrow it flies forward straight towards the horrible thing, the point sliding between the armor of the body and leg to imbed itself. Almost severing the leg it makes the spider unbalanced as one of its front legs stops working suddenly. Moving to the side where less of this group stand while pulling another of his arrows out he notches it but doesn't draw it back as he watches to see if the rest of the group will come to their companions aid. Taking a deep breath he allows the take over he had been holding go and can feel his muscles become legs springy and movable.

 

[hiei82]

Ai was about to answer the Princess when she was faced with a rather sudden change in events. First had been the discovery of the dead cat-creature. This would normally have been of little concern were it not for the giant spider webs in which it was caught. "If it's willing and able to catch such a creature, then it's able to do the same to us." Ai thought to herself, remembering the factoid for later. She might have added it as a note to her log were it not for the arrival of the strange reptilian-looking man screaming "GIANT SPIDER ON MY ASS KILL IT!"

Never one to let a warning go unaddressed, she quickly reached down to her belt and pulled forth both her sword and one of her Mutagens. Downing the chemical concoction, she felt her muscles come to life. Her otherwise normal limbs grew in size; becoming stronger and faster than normal. As the first spiders arrived, she was going to engage but the Horizon saw fit to send more than one at them. From the tree with the cat, another gigantic spider leapt forth. A third spider made itself known from another direction where an old settlement appeared to be.

Realizing this was no time to be conservative, she pulled forth another bottle - this one a Cognatogen - and tossed it back without a second thought. Almost at once, the world seemed to slow. The spiders were still rushing at her, but she could see their every movement in clear detail. Normally in this state, she too would feel slow and bewilderingly weak, but thanks to the Mutagen she could move with ease exactly as she wanted.

Ai could see the others preparing their own defenses; mostly attempts to scare or deter the spiders. The princess was trying to talk to them. Ai had no such ability. The only way she could stop them was through the sword. IF she had time, she might have been able to prepare some kind of repellant, but she had neither the ingredients nor the knowledge of what would work on these spiders.

Ai rushed at the spider from the settlement but stopped before reaching it. All she'd intended to do was give herself room to fight and - if necessary - retreat. Once the spider was in range, Ai struck with her sword. Her form was perfect, though it was an unfamiliar creature to fight. She didn't know everything it could do, but if it was like a normal spider she just needed to avoid their bites and anything that came out of their mouth or thorax. So, keeping her distance, she used thrusting motions with her sword to aim for vital areas; particularly it's many many eyes.

 

[Josh123914]

The spider edged closer to Nettil, spewing more toxic acid at her. In response, she stood up and flung a chunk of her cobblestone wall at the beast. The block of stone stunned the spider, which gave Nettil just enough time to ready her spear and shoot a deadly blow to the monster.

Spinning around, she assessed the rest of the situation. The woman called Ai ran towards the settlement and began to literally cut her way through a spider. This kills it.
Meanwhile, their new arrival successfully shot the other spider in a leg, but now that one has decided to retreat back into the jungle, since its comrades both now lay dead.

The area was now very quiet. The faint wind left jungle leaves rustling, but again, there were no noises of wildlife. The settlement ahead seemed to have 3 distinct points of interest. One was a large tented eating area, that seemed capable of holding several dozen people if need be. The second was a building on stilts with some sort of sentry on its roof and some dried ink spilling out of a window. The final place of note was the artificial pond in the middle of the settlement. It had a faint blue glow to it, and several natural streams appeared to flow into it, only for the water to be caught in the hole.

Nettil now looked over to the new person, and asked very cautiously, "Who are you? And what were those?"

 

[DarkRawen]

Iura chose to stand back while the others fought. It was partly because he did not think that the spiders deserved to be killed -surely the group were the ones trespassing, not the spiders-, but also so that he could gauge the others' abilities. While Iuratus was not really impressed by the newcomer or this Nettil, their abilities seemed to surpass those of regular mortals. They were just not... that much. The swordplay of Ai, however, caught his eye, it was impeccable.

I wonder how she learned that. I'll have to ask later.

Regardless of their skills, it did not seem like he needed to help them, which meant he did not have to attack spiders that were likely acting out of fear, not anger. That much was a good thing. The surviving spider would do well, given that even Iuratus knew of a spider's ability to regenerate their legs.

I do wonder how anyone could think they would reply. Spiders cannot talk, as far as I know.

He wondered if the any of the people who had been fighting was hurt, but it was not his place to interrupt a conversation to ask. Therefore, instead of walking over to the stranger, Iuratus walked past them, and towards the settlement there. He did take a moment to give a nod to Ai, though, if only out of respect. Then his eyes wandered over to the water, it was glowing blue the same way his eyes did.

"What is this?" he wondered aloud, sword pointed at the odd colour of the water. "Some kind of magic, perhaps?" Iuratus got closer, curiously examining this strange phenomena. Removing his gauntlet, he carefully ran a hand through the water, head tilted towards the water. He was looking for some kind of magic in it.

 

[IFS]

One of the others attempted to speak with the spider, only for another two of the creatures to drop down from above. How did I miss them? Myrreh wondered briefly, her instincts and senses were as sharp as ever, perhaps the new environment was simply throwing her off. At any rate the spiders, their numbers now bolstered, moved to attack but were swiftly driven away by the others. Myrreh had drawn her sword when the spiders attacked but in the end it proved unnecessary for her to involve herself. After all she didn't find herself overly troubled by the fates of these strangers and the spiders had not managed to threaten her family.

Of the strangers only one had been particularly impressive in the fight, Ai, the teacher. Did she mention what subject she specialized in? Perhaps it was swordplay. In fact Ai's technique likely equaled or perhaps even exceeded that of some of the more talented duelists she had seen in the city. But then the spiders had not seemed especially challenging or dangerous foes, they were little more than animals (though she supposed that was true of most things).

"Some kind of magic, perhaps?"

Magic. Magic was simply a power that one could not understand, far too broad of a blanket for Myrreh's liking. There were any number of chemicals or organisms that could illuminate such a puddle, why would one jump to magic as an explanation? The puddle might bear more looking into, but she was certain she could discover a simpler causative agent.

"Perhaps some sort of glowing algae or other life," she suggested "or some chemical leaking up from the ground below."

She sniffed the air, trying to detect anything anomalous. Did this village have much to offer them, she wondered. If it could even be called a village that was. Perhaps they might be better off stripping it for whatever might help then moving on. The others could stay if they wished, so far she saw no reason for her family to remain for long.

 

[DarkRawen]

"Perhaps some sort of glowing algae or other life, or some chemical leaking up from the ground below."

The masked one walked up him, and Iuratus looked at her. "Chemical? Like... alchimia? I believe the humans back home call it alchemy. Is that it?" he asked, puzzled. "I have to admit that I am not that familiar with some of the terms used by mankind. Chemical..." he looked at the water again, glowing gently.

"How could we know if it are these chemicals of yours? Or algae?" He then put his gauntlet on, shaking his head.

I cannot allow myself to become too curious.

"Magic or alchemy, it matters little. In the end, what we need to know is what it could do, or if we need it. We must be careful not to disrupt the flow or ruining the glow. I quite like it, it reminds me of home," Iura continued, remembering water flowing from the sky-city down to the earth, like a long waterfall, or a ladder too fleeting to climb. Of course, that water did not have a glow like this. Calmly, he relaxed, though the voice of one of the others made him alert again.


"Hello? Don't supposed you'd know where we are would you?"

"Is there someone up there?" Iuratus asked, and tried to look into the tower Jensa was looking at. Given his naturally sharp eyesight, he would should be able to see if them if so.

 

[booksv3]

Turning towards the one who was talking to him and frowning at it Hissa very slowly lets his bow go to a ready position with the string straight and not pulled back like it had been. Looking it over he sighs and pulls the arrow from the string, letting it drop back into the quiver as he answers.
"My name is Hissa and those were spiders, though that is pretty obvious."

Walking past the one talking to him Hissa jerks the arrows sticking from the spider body and grumbles at the goo on them, but drops them into the quiver also before turning back and looking over the group that still stands around.
"Your the leader of this group? Seems they don't follow you that well. Who are you?"

 

[hiei82]

Once the spider went down, Ai almost immediately went to work collecting ingredients. Venom rarely lasted long before it broke down. It was just a part of the nature of the substance. Venom needed to be highly reactive to kill quickly and effectively and so it quickly reacted with the environment when the spider's own defenses broke down. Toward that end, that was where she started with her harvest. Pulling out a pair of leather gloves, she carefully milked the venom into one of her many empty flasks.

Very early in the process, the warrior Iuratus nodded as he passed from the battle and into the town. Ai wasn't sure why he did so, but she suspected it had to do with her fighting the spider. Ai returned the action in kind before continuing with her task. Specifically, she followed a similar process for the spider's acidic spit and silk gland collecting what useful material she could. In the end, she had a flask of the venom, three vials of the acid, a vial of adhesive, and a large bag of now-adhesive-free silk

She briefly considered turning to the other spiders but decided against it. Her container supply wasn't unlimited and she never knew what they'd encounter next. Further, it was probably a poor idea to remain on the outskirts while the rest of the group was in the settlement.

She made her way into the settlement just in time to hear Iuratus speak. "Magic or alchemy, it matters little. In the end, what we need to know is what it could do, or if we need it. We must be careful not to disrupt the flow or ruining the glow. I quite like it, it reminds me of home,". Hearing her specialty mentioned, Ai made her way over to the glowing lake. "I might be able to identify it; almost certainly if it's an alchemical process." she offered, looking at the lake.

To illustrate the point, she put down her backpack and opened it to reveal the portable alchemical lab to those present. "Identifying useful alchemical ingredients is half the reason I'm on this journey." she added with a small smile. "And don't worry; I'll only take a small sample for testing; it shouldn't disrupt the lake as a whole." she added to reassure Iuratus.

From there, she turned her attention to the lake; trusting Iuratus and all of the other dedicated warriors to the phantom sentry. "Nettil! If you're not busy, would you help me with the tests; I'm sure your knowledge as a herbalist would expedite the analysis."

 

[Anti-American Eagle]

As another approached, fighting broke, apparently spiders were chasing it. Odd things that looked unnatural but didn't feel it. Kyras watched as others moved into action faster than he did. He noticed Ai again, moving with an odd and impressive speed. Curious. He watched and followed as the other moved towards a nearby settlement. Abandoned it seemed. An odd glowing pool of what he thought to be water in the center. Some of the others were talking about it, wondering about it.

As he started to approach he heard Jensa shout at something "Hello? Don't supposed you'd know where we are would you?"

Kyras turned his attention from the pool and looked where Jensa was looking, trying to spot a person, he asked Jensa "Is someone up there?" wondering if she had seen something he didn't.

 

[Josh123914]

"My name is Hissa and those were spiders, though that is pretty obvious."
"I was hoping you would have more information" She grumbled, folding her arms at the lizardman.

"Your the leader of this group? Seems they don't follow you that well. Who are you?"
"My name is Nettil, and no, I don't claim to be their leader. Besides you did quite well with that spider" She decided to complement him rather than get hung over on his veiled insult.

Jensa's calling at the stilted building was met with silence. Nettil considered going over to it, but would rather check the water. So there she went, taking a wineskin from her bag to fill.
"I hope this water is drinkable" she told Hissa. "How long have you been here?"
But as soon as she got the words out, she heard someone calling her name;
"Nettil! If you're not busy, would you help me with the tests; I'm sure your knowledge as a herbalist would expedite the analysis."
It was Ai. "Just a minute!" Nettil stood up and looked back to Hissa. "You were saying?"

Meanwhile, the palms of Kyras' hands became itchy went red, with portions of skin began to flake off.
In a few moments Jensa would feel the same, not only on her hands, but in her throat and face as well.

 

[booksv3]

"My name is Nettil, and no, I don't claim to be their leader. Besides you did quite well with that spider.

Nodding and looking around as the group starts to slowly split up Hissa unstring's his bow as he answers her, coiling the string and slipping it back into its pouch.
"Most things will run if they find a limb not working anymore. They don't go down with one shot this time, but i am not sure where the vitals are on these things. I don't have more information on them, just that they are very big and seem to spit some kind of acid."

Wincing and turning himself to look at his own back he looks at the few burned points on it.

How long have you been here?
"A day, not long. I came through and left for the jungle right away, no reason to step into that over there right away if i do not need to. First time seeing the spiders through."

You were saying?"
"You say your not their leader but looking at it they call on you for help."

Hissa looks at Nettil almost distrusting as the evidence in his eyes contradicts her statement.

 

[DarkRawen]

"I might be able to identify it; almost certainly if it's an alchemical process. Identifying useful alchemical ingredients is half the reason I'm on this journey. And don't worry; I'll only take a small sample for testing; it shouldn't disrupt the lake as a whole."

"I see, that is good," Iura said, and sat down next to the water, deciding to stay. There was no reply from the tower, whoever Jensa had thought she seen, did not want to speak. Iuratus could not see anyone either. Besides, he wanted to see what Ai would do, and how Nettil could aid her. The tools Ai had brought earned a tilted head, Iuratus was curious about what purpose they served.

"You say your not their leader but looking at it they call on you for help."

While Iura had not intended to listen in on someone else's conversation, Nettil and the newest arrival had come closer to the water, and it was unavoidable.

"Being called upon for aid is not proof of one's leadership," Iura said to the newcomer. He had to admit, he did not like the idea of Nettil being the leader, she seemed a bit too arrogant to fit. Everyone had minor flaws, but arrogance was one that could get people killed.

"I do not think there is a leader yet," he added, it had not seemed like that from when they entered. A united group would not engage in discussion back and forth while facing a possibly dangerous situation.

Not that I always agreed with Justine or Justin.

Between them, however, it was friendly banter. Besides, no one had been the leader when he had travelled with them, first Justine and then Justin a hundred years later, two people only needed general agreement. When first seeing this group, it had seemed more like disagreement. Especially between Jensa and Nettil.

Perhaps they both want to be the leader. Could either do it, though?

"If there is no leader, I would like to suggest someone with experience and presence. It does not matter who, as long as they know how to tackle a group." he added, helpfully. At least, he intended so. Then he noticed the wounds of the strange being.

"Those looks like bad burns, do you want me to heal them?" Iuratus asked, and removed his gauntlets. A soft blue glow that felt comforting even from a distance appeared around his hands. "I am Iuratus, by the way, and it will not hurt."

 

[Anti-American Eagle]

Kyras felt an itch on his hands as he looked at the tower. He started scratching it as he heard Iuratus speak and he turned looking at Jensa to see her face reddening. He looked down at his hands and saw the skin flaking off of his palms.

Kyras mumbled "What the..." and shook his hands a bit as he looked at them and the skin kept flaking off. It wasn't painful and nothing felt particularly wrong as he looked at them but Jensa started to vomit and he got worried. His eyes glowed slightly as he tried to heal his hands, but nothing really happened "What the..." Annoyed and confused he started scratching again and some of the skin sloughed off as he dug at it. He felt it as he continued and saw pale skin as he looked.

After a moment Kyras wondered and created a small flame in his hand. The red skin caught on fire and he didn't feel anything as it burned away. He killed the flame as the itching stopped and looked at his palms. Pale skin and some ash.

He mumbled "Strange..." before saying "I think I'm fine" and looking at Jensa trying to figure out if she'd be too with her vomiting what appeared to be feathers.

 

[booksv3]

"Those looks like bad burns, do you want me to heal them?"

Looking at the much taller thing with glowing hands Hissa takes a step back and stiffens.
"I don't know you, and i don't know what you can do. Its just some drops from the spiders, should be fine."

Reaching back and scratching his skin under where the drop burns are Hissa looks beyond the two standing next to him and frowns, glad he hadn't jumped or drank from the lake.
"Seems your team mates need some help, their skin is going crazy."

Still keeping an eye on the glowing hands Hissa looks between the glowing handed person and the one with the plant control.