Otherworldly Dangers - RPLOG
From Flexible Survival
Participants
Date
30/1/2022
Log
T'is a cold and harrowing night in the distant woodlands. The moon shines full and the ferals have taken refuge, all that remains is what few enduring beasts of the shadows lurk around seeking easy prey. To those whom had answered the mysterious summons, the coordinates listed would take them far into the blackened woodlands abyss. Those feint of heart or unwilling to brave the bitter cold would have no doubt turned away, yet those resolved to learn more of a looming threat to the new world they'd built for themselves may yet remain. Strangely enough, the provided location was very specific, so much so it had a margin of error smaller than the gap between a crystal avian's overgrown chestmounds! To those with the technical and navigation acuity, soon enough the faint flickering of a campfire amidst the woodlands would present itself. There, several logs would encircle a stone fireplace, intended to be used as two to three-person benches. Upon them a sole feline rested, dressed in a long brown overcoat, his head capped by a warm woolen headcover, and his neck guarded by a cozy scarf colored brown and green. He'd be poking at the firepit with what seemed to be a branch he'd picked up from somewhere, and idly passing his time, waiting for whomever it was would arrive. Aside from that, the scene was peaceful, tranquil even. Eerily calm with naught but the sounds of the winter winds and crackle of the fireplace breaking the otherwise deafening silence.
Fenris chugs gamely along through the woodlands. Literally. The tanuki has assumed an odd form today. He is still obviously a tanuki, but he seems to be constructed of brass with ornate samurai armor grafted to it. The sound of metal sliding on metal accompanies his movement, along with the occasional chuff of steam from the intimidating dragon grille over his brass snout. He clomps to a stop at the campfire and waves, opening the front of his helmet to reveal a pleasant little smile on a round, coon-masked face. "Heard there was adventure to be had!" he says in a warm tenor, steam rising from his lips.
Yejian was no stranger to woodland navigation. She lived here, after all, and the knightly rabbit wasn't about to have spooks befouling the place. Trotting through the trees, rather quietly for her heavy armour, the spear toting woman draws near the campfire and leans over to place a smooch atop the feline's head. "So it would seem."
Circling high overhead the campfire is a shadow in the night sky, blocking out the stars for a brief moment as it moves. It seems to be hunting for something, passing by once, twice, and then seems to home on the gathering location. It makes as close of a flyby as the tree tops allows, with large wings flapping to take back off into the sky. Moments later it approaches again, having found a large enough opening to come in, the large creature gliding in fast! A roughly eight foot tall large male shadow dragon lands near the spot with a muffled thud, his wings flapping a little for balance. Looking him over, he is covered in black as night scales, but carrying an equipment bag, and has a collar on his neck, with an ID badge. With a deep sigh, he looks around where he landed to check for threats, and then walks over to the campfire.
Currently shifted into a Storm Dragon with a fan of tails, Willy's journey through the forest has been one done cautiously. While his home was in a Lodge at the forests edge, the maps listing was not something to be trifled with. Reaching the location, he smiles and lets his gaurd down a bit, and smiles "I was told to come here to be of assistance to a mission" he says to the cat, before spotting Fenris giving a wave, and nodding to the others.
As long as it wasn't actually underground, there were no issues at all finding it. The distant light through the trees the only beaming beacon to be seen, aside from herself as she chose to be. Strolling through the forest with a stubborn appearance of being headstrong. Or proud? Glowing, fur and dress lit, casting a pink glow all about her. Eying the others. But she did not sit, tails behind her curling and waving about, some even supporting her slightly upon the ground. 40 tails trailing afterimages behind her, as she made no attempt to truly hide herself. Ascii arrived late, having been unsure, and as such only leaving at the last moment. The glow faded from her, all except for the green markings on her neck, the pink glow of her eyes, and that of the streamers attached t othe end of each and every tail. There was nothing orderly to how her tails had settled though, wild in their actions, fighting against each other as much as seeming to stare in random directions. Steadying her balance moment to moment despite everything. Dress worn tight over her, like armor, garnished with dives at either shoulder, tied into a sling at her right side, and connected into a double holster for short barreled items, and what appears to be a music player..? Arms crossed as she tilts her head, fennec like ears perked, arm raised holding her hand up in greeting amidst unfamiliar faces.
Two arms wrap around Yejian's figure, the feline pulling her in for the warmest of embraces, portraying naught but boundless warmth and appreciation for the woman that'd approached him. "I had a feeling I'd see you here. Can't leave well enough alone if the people's safety is suggested to be endangered." He'd tuck his head under her chin, likely one of the few places he could make direct contact given her battle-readied ensemble. The softest sigh of contentment parts his lips when he feels her warmth against his, before pulling away with that same familiar smile tugging at his feline muzzle. "Well, there is yet work to do. I've little reason to think others are coming." Fenris, he wasn't just a person, at this point he'd become a bit of a brand for his patron. Ever the enthusiastic enigma, Magnus has no trouble recognizing him at even a glance. "Look who's here! You I didn't think I'd be seeing! Or do you make a habit of being elusive just for the sake of mystique?" He casts the raccoon dog a wink, then gestures towards the surrounding seating accommodations. "Please, if you'd be so kind. We've much to discuss before I show you anything, or take you anywhere." Then there's that soft sound made known when their shadowy of dragon friends makes his appearance. Randel, was it? Magnus had only seen the fellow once before, and t'was most definitely in a body like this. Still, the lingering scent he carried was familiar, yet not so much that he could identify the therapist at a single whiff. He'd greet the male with a wave of one hand and a gesture to make himself comfortable and warm around the firepit, where they were to convene before any actual hunting was to happen. Willy, he was a stranger. At least so far as Magnus remembered, this person... was unknown to him. Even so that was unsurprising, he wasn't solely expecting familiar faces, though the body he wore definitely piqued some interest. A fluffy dragon of all things, such a novel concept. Magnus knew of only one other furred dragon, cast black with a white-striped tail... he feels a sudden tinge of melancholy, for they'd not seen one another in a while. Perchance it was time to resolve this. "You are in the right place. Welcome. Warm yourself by the fire." The feline nods, and passes a few moments until the final of their group arrives. She was... unlike anything else. He could scarcely understand the business occurring with that overwhelming cacophony of tails there. Goodness, yet she seemed quite confident in herself. One can only hope that t'was not overconfidence. He'd greet her with a nod and a kind word, then gesture for her to take her place near the fire. "Right..." The feline stands, then begins to pace around the flickering flames. "First and foremost, introductions as courtesy necessitates. I am Magnus Persival Ottkins. I have gathered you all here to address something that I've made it my business to combat for the better part of last year now. Something quite alien to all but those familiar with the otherworldly affairs on an intimate level. Well... for the lack of a better word." he'd snerk and rub his hands together. "Ladies and gentlemen, I will not sugarcoat it. I am fighting a losing battle... lest I gather aid in my pursuits, I am fearful of what may well start plaguing our city, our homes, our lives, our families. Though I already know some of you have the strength and resolve to face the dangers ahead, I am willing to trust that your presence here signifies this holds true for all of you. To those unwilling to involve themselves in such affairs however, kindly rise, and walk away now."
Fenris sits by the fire with a THUD and listens to Magnus, nodding along and focusing on the most important parts. "Your name is Ottkins?" the brass tanuki asks incredulously.
"Of course I can't. This is a knight's calling, after all," Yejian replies to Magnus with a wink. Once parting from the contact, she rests the butt of her spear on the ground and hooks an arm lazily around it to listen and observe the others. "I'm familiar enough with such things. Not as much as my mother by far, but enough, and you know me well enough by now that I'll not back down from a challenge like this."
Willy nods to this and sits down at the fire with a rumbiliing "Thank you" he says, before listening in to the plan. He nods slowly and keeps a calm look, with a minor swish of his tails here and there. Once finished his smiles "I've worked more than enough and hard enough to be able to take strong missions. This do me is no bigger a challenge and I am happy to help out." he says with a smile.
The stoic looking dragon gets to the campfire and sits down. Despite being in just scales, the chill of the night doesn't bother him. Suddenly there is a look of surprise as he sees the Tanuki and mutters, "Wait, Fenris?!" but then keeps to his professional self. Getting a closer look at the collared almost natural looking feral, people can see his Zephyr ID badge. It is in fact Randel, 'of Zephyr', from the Psych Department. The same pleasant, accommodating, mutant therapist and reluctant government desk jockey; out here of all nights to help with a rather dire sounding mission. Those that know, he's had a 'wild life' and rough career during the chaos of P-Day and the months following, and now is showing some of himself former self now. Even one of the six pictures on the badge shows a shadow dragon, matching his face perfectly. "Oh good, I thought I was going to be late," Randel says in relief, "Had to make a detour to the mountain to check on something." There is deep draconic chuckle before he states, "You know I can't really pass this up." and then adds in an emphasized tone "It'll be just like just like the good old days, when P-Day hit." He opens his humble equipment bag, and says "Sorry, I.. uh, am not much on gearing up. But I did bring medical supplies." And shows the stash of canisters of powerful medical nanites, among other basic gear most agents carry.
Ascii nodded, staying quiet, for the moment. Listening as she sat down, tails resting out with her. Looking like a bunch of lazy snakes behind her now, like that. "I've dealt with such things, before." She admitted, eyes shifting aside as she wasn't speaking to any one person, though she neither rose, or left. Maybe there was a tinge of anger slipping in at that too. Eying lengthwise across the space, and then behind herself, tails lurching to action! Just to settle down again as she turned back towards the fire. Adjusting the skirting of her dress enough to bring note of the gray thermal garment pressed to her legs beneath it. "Ascii. I'm Ascii, Ascii Lyneston, prior microbiologist, then former police officer with RSX, now civilian information broker. Co-owner of the Morning After tavern. And owner of the Afterthoughts shop.."
The feline continues to circle around the campfire, nodding shallowly to his companions' responses. When they'd all finished expressing their willingness, he halts in place, and looks around the motley crew of diverse talents and eager bodies. This was encouraging. "Then in that case..." he'd wave towards the stack of firewood behind the log Ascii had sat down on. Seems like a few of these logs were purposefully set aside and primed to be used as torches. "Kindly grab one torch each and follow me. T'is merely a precautionary measure. The beasts of the night are avoidant of fire. We'd have an easier time crossing the woodlands without being pounced by a hungry critter." Magnus notes, then does so himself, snagging one of the prepared torches and setting it ablaze upon the firepit. He'd then turn towards Fenris and smirk. "The name was given to me, my father didn't have a last name and I needed to register somehow with RSX when I still worked for them. They're terribly stingy about their paperwork. It stuck, so I made it official." He'd shrug deeply and take a few steps in specific to the north, then pause and wait for everyone to ready themselves. It is only then that he'd lead the way towards wherever it was he intended to take them. Sure enough, should everyone grab their torches or not, he'd proceed onwards to lead them through the thick and twisting depths of the dark forest. Here, silence reigned supreme, barring any spoken words, the only noises permeating the air were the party's footfalls and the crackling of their torches. Eventually however, something comes into view... there between the trees, large and amorpheous, hovering over the ground, cracking with electrical energy and radiation. T'was not enough to cause them immediate harm, but even at a distance of twenty feet it made any nanite creature in the area feel slighlty... off, as Radiation tended to do. To best describe it, the anomaly most closely resembled a rip in the fabric of reality. As though someone had slashed at the open air and exposed something beneath it somehow. Glowing a faint, sickly greenish-purple-red-yellow... it never seemed to settle on any one specific color, though most strangely of all it appeared to warp the space around it, forcing random distortions in the air, akin to those one might see over a hot surface, though much more intense. It exhimed a sickly humming and crackling, all together appearing foreboding. "Ladies and gentlemen. THIS is a an extraplanar tear. Not to be confused with a wormhole, which is an INTERplanar tear, research is still unsure if those exist. Anyway! I understand the lot of you are likely confused right now, but permit me to elucidate. No doubt all of you are well acquainted with the various other realms now within our reach thanks to Zephyr's undying thirst for profit. They exist... so how about this thing? What caused it and its brothers to just suddenly start popping up?" He'd pause, then huff out his nose. "The fact of the matter is, they've always been trying to open. Our plane is simply such that it hates things like these. They are unstable, and spacetime prefers to remain uniform. In the past, were one to rip open?" He clamps his hands together for emphasis. "Snap. The universe cleans itself up. So then, what changed? What happened that we are seeing this one, very much un-closed?" Another pause... "Loki happened. Odin... happened. Ixchel... happened. Inari happened. Artemis happened. The solar dragons, the lunar touched, the phoenixes... ALL of them... happened. Right here, in our little nook of Fairhaven. More and more extraplanar entities throwing the natural balance of power into flux, and here we see one of the symptomes." Magnus shakes his head and exhales slowly. "Even so, such tears are temporary, they last no more than an hour or two from my observation. I've yet to discover a way to close them, but we were either lucky or UNlucky that this one popped up before our meeting was to commense. I had initially a presentation to show you, but... why do that when we can see the real thing. I am afraid I have little in terms of answers for whatever questions you may have, but I want you to know what happens sometimes when these things emerge. Sometimes, things crawl through. Accidentally, intentionally, I don't know and I care not. The past year I've done little else than hunt every single of these atrocities down as much as my reach permits, but... the overabundance of magic use is increasing. With that, so will these tears, and so will the unwelcome invaders they let in. This is what I need you for. This is why I've summoned you."
Fenris takes up a torch when they are offered and follows along, nodding as Magnus explains. Warm, orange light peeps through the seams of his armor, along with the occasional puff of steam, hinting at some kind of inner workings. As the rift becomes more evident around the group, the brass tanuki quietly unslings the long bladed spear from his back. A soft, yellow green light forms a barely visible halo around the blade. "These the ones that have been following you around?" he asks, his tone pleasant, but his eyes wary.
Taking a torch, Yejian sets off to follow. The odd rift in space promps a curious once-over, as she nods along with Magnus' words. "That sounds about right, to my understanding of it. They've always been around, but every time one gets a foothold on the world it makes it easier for others to follow suit. Still, the reason for it matters not to me. What does matter, and what I do have the power to deal with, is whatever comes out, like you said. And unlike people, it's a threat I don't have to feel reserved about fighting."
Randel nods in agreement to the choice of lighting, knowing personally how the creatures of the area operate. As he grabs and lights the torch, he nod's Magnus' comment about needing a last name, pausing to reflect on his own missing family name. With the medical supply pack looped over a shoulder and covered by a wing, he follows Magnus. Shortly after walking he asks, "Huh, I need to know for certain, who's in charge of this mission, Magnus or one of us? Just want to make sure nothing gets confusing upon first encounter". Further in, when the team reached the rift in reality, the heavily augmented Nanite Adept pause with a worried look, just like the other ferals nearby, feeling the radiation hugging his body with a sickly embrase. Overriding his fear he carries on and listens to the explanation. The dragon can't help but nod in unamused agreement that Zephyr is mainly about profits, but there isn't much he can do about it, or he would. There is also a sad nod when given the explanation of the rips in reality, looking uncomfortable about it, as a kid about a test in school he completely failed to study for. He was an infection form researcher, not a paranormalist! Still, he found himself at the doorstep of madness himself, expecting to get schooled, one way or another. When hearing Yejian's comment about not feeling reserved about fighting what horrors may come out, he smiles again and states, "Oh good... I think I have over a hundred feral mindsets that would love to stretch out and... 'meat' some of them." and widens his clawed hands, itching to tear into something. Then he straps his equipment bag more securely on his bag and then looks around for any threats, either from the portal, or for anything that has already crawled out.
Willy Looks at the tear ever a bit befuddled. He had heard about such going on in the world, but by this point, he had largely lead it to be of more having to do with the reality bending of the nanites themselves. True magic though, that was a surprise. Blinking a bit, he looked back to Magnus. "I see where this could be back braking to whats going on...though I don't exactly understand what is your request...are you speaking in something to stop them...or is this more, defensive preperations?" he asks as his draconic cat ears twitch a bit.
Ascii kind of hesitated to take a torch for herself, she was normally brighter than a torch anyways. But followed suit. Retaining one for herself, and an extra under her opposing arm just in case should there be enough. Only to see something she had seen before, possibly a number of times, stomach turning tense at her proximity, tails agitated much more dramatically now, waving about behind her as if hiding behind her from it automatically. She couldn't help it. Dropping the extra torch and instantly taking up her more comfortable implement offhanded. What looks like a small pistol with no opening at the end of it's barrel, and no lunes marking a slide, appearing to be solid. turned down to the ground but kept at the edge of her own vision. She couldn't look at it though. It brought back some bad memories. Instead choosing to look over Magnus and keep her eyes upon him instead, he was the speaker after all.
"Hm? No. Well, not always. Pretty much anything can emerge from these. I've seen and disposed of mindflayers, spore husks, and gloomtreants, but all the same sometime all they puff out is radiation, some strange inorganic goo or something from the pleasant plains, like a pink fluffy unicorn. Those I just take back to Zephyr and chuck into their home, just in case." Magnus handwaves and nods in acknowledgement to Yejian's observation. "Astute, and now I fear we've started to veer over a dangerous precipice. If thinks keep going the way they've been going with these otherworldly entities, we'll keep seeing bigger and more volatile tears forming, letting stars-know what else into our realm..." He then turns towards the next spoken question, "For starters, awareness. Getting the opportunity to show at least the lot of you what's happening in the background is a huge enough help already. But if I can actually recruit willing souls to combat these otherworldly ills, not the tears at this point... but the beasts they spawn, then... that would be an immense help. Our world is no place for them, here they come to ravage and loot with no natural predators of their own, if no one keeps them under control, we may well be overrun in a few years time." His glance then wanders towards Randel, "Then I encourage you to do so, but also to be careful of what you encounter. I've amassed a great deal of knowledge about many of these entities, and I wish to share it with those willing to make a difference." His compassionate glance falls on Ascii, one hand reaching out to take her shoulder. "It's alright. This is for demonstra-" The feline's words are cut off at the ironically most opportune time for fate to make its point. The tear they'd neared violently crackles, its brightness intensifying for several seconds as radiation gushes forth from within it depths. Spacetime around it seems to ripple and swirl for a few seconds more, before it fades into oblivion with a nauseating crunch. Ascii, Yenian and Willy would all feel momentarily dizzy, but their stamina shoves the daze aside in mere seconds. Randel and Fenrishowever feel their stomachs churn, bile building up and their knees going momentarily weak. They suffer a brief incapacitation trying to keep their lunch down, but would otherwise be up on their feet again after a few seconds. As for what remained there, where the tear once resided, a tall, gangrenous humanoid with pale skin and bloodshot eyes lay curled up. Its bones crackle as it moves to sit up, disjoined maw opening wide uttering an unearthly gurgle. Its limbs are outlandishly long and capped with blackened scythe-like talons, its feet digitigrade and skeletally thin as though it had not eaten in months. It would turn its horrid face and stare wide-eyed at the group, then slowly begin to turn and face them as drool leaks out its fanged maw.
Fenris stops for a moment, seaying on his feet. "Oog," he groans, "I felt that." He bends over, holding his knees and taking deep breaths for a moment before straightening to see the abberation from the rift. "Oh," the tanuki says, "I don't like the look of that." He raises his spear in preparation.
"And that's one to test our mettle against, then." Yejian drops the torch and swings her spear into a ready position, braced and sturdy. "Been a while since I felt that kind of feeling." But with it passed, she was far more prepared to handle threats of a physical nature.
