Trail of Tears: The Quest Chapter 5

The bus is packed full, the poor german shepherd curled up under one of the seats, and Sorien in the driver's seat. The front windshield thankfully intact, but one of the side means the bus' top speed is lower, and the wind constantly howling inside the exposed bus. Temperate controls out the window, the baking sun's heat only starts to fade into night on their trip out. Inola sits up front near Sorien, and has been pointing out direction, a steely look of anger attempting to be hidden under a calm demeanor. [REDACTED] is napping directly behind Sorien's seat, eyes closed, she was nervous before and only happy to see an encounter with shadow not end in pain. Grantok's felt nothing but exhaustion after casting those spells, the energy used taking a toll on her body, fur falling out in patches and slumber hitting like a brick.

Eithne glances up from her maps, looking around the bus. "So! Who wants to be tactical and make a plan to best use everyone's talents? I call not it!" The science cat has her maps out on her lapdesk again, turning them so that the rest of the bus can see the information presented there. "I'm a scientist, not a soldier." She nods seriously, emerald eyes skipping from person to person.

Balina spends her time curled up in one of the bus's remarkably roomy seats, as has been her habit since leaving Fairhaven. She remains alert, unable to sleep due to levels of excitement and anxiety and a gnawing sensation she's been unable to shake all evening, but at least there isn't room for her to pace. Hearing Eithne's voice, her head picks up and she gives what was probably supposed to be a soft smile. "When have any of us managed to both have a plan and stick to it? Point me towards the bad things, stand back. Repeat as needed."

Grantok spends the entire bus ride out cold, minus the occasional shifting in her seat on the ride over and a whimper here and there.

Inola's eyes wander back toward the nekomata. "How can you be calm about this? If what I've been told is true, the end of the entire world is on us, and it appears to be winning. How do we even deal with things that can tear out and eat someone's soul and replace them with a part of themselves?"

Makena smiles and sits up looking out the window. She giggles, "Well fire seems to work haha"

At the mention of fire, the german shepherd whines audibly.

"Most things have weaknesses," Balina adds. "I tend to find the throat works more often than not."

Makena looks around "Have any of you guys seen these things before? hehe. That was my first time."

Eithne blinks at Inola, like the thought hasn't even occurred to her. "... Because we're going to win." is her response, in a tone of voice that says that fact should be obvious. "We have weapons far greater than anything in Shadow's arsenal, weapons he can't even begin to fathom, and we will use them to track down this dagger and kick his ass." The fauxneko nods righteously, believing those words completely, and then taps her map again with one hand. "... though, love, you do have a point. Plans and us don't mix. It's why we understand each other so much." A paw idly reaches up to scratch the fenrir's ears.

As night falls, the group passes the border east into Arkansas, heading into the Ozarks, the hills adjusting the whole landscape and giving things a very different feel from the flatness of Oklahoma. If it wasn't for the abandoned cars occasionally appearing, and nightfall itself, the scenery would be surprisingly beautiful.

Makena quacks, "Oh wow, what weapons?"

Makena giggles "Are they secret weapons?" looks all interested

[REDACTED] stretches and yawns, having napped enough for one evening. Her bones audibly popping as she flexes about. "Love, do you need a relief?" passed up to Sorien, and denial the response, Sorien intent on her goal of getting them to their destination in a timely manner. They're off the main highway now, on backroads through the mountains, though they hardly classify as mountains compared with the Rockies.

Eithne glances over to Makena. "Hope, Love, and the ability to trust the people we're working with."

Inola frowns, "I don't know where you find that boundless hope. Just seeing what that thing did to Ai..." she shivers. "Please kill me before that ever happens to me."

Makena giggles "Okay!"

Balina hops off of her seat, stretching as best as circumstances allow and nuzzling against Eithne as she passes, seating herself in the aisle near Inola and presenting a clear fire safety violation in case of emergency. "We stopped its plans for Ai without any preparation, or even a clear idea what was going on. What we're going to do now?" Big, reassuringly fangly grin. "We've been ready to do for over a year."

"No. Don't." The words slip out of the lynx's mouth in her restless slumber, sleepily adjusting the way she is curled up into the chair. It appears as though she's sweating a little as well.

Makena snarls, "Hehe okay well just let me know when we get there!"

The ride is hours, the distances out in this part of the country staggering. It's approaching first light when they near the destination. No sign of life beyond the occasional nocturnal animal. No drivers, no random gunfire. Inola seems less agitated with all the positivity surrounding her, it's a wonder. Sorien again attempts to try to fix the german shepherd that was once a man, but the magic doesn't seem to help. Outside, they are in a flat section of the Ozarks, with eighteen visible mounds, clearly symmetrical and human built but ancient and overgrown and unkempt. A small parking lot and a sign recognizing the sacred nature of the place nearby.

Eithne glances over at Grantok's words, and then skitters over to her fellow feline. "I am Phoenix. I am Fire, which man has used to drive back the shadows and darkness since time immemorial. I am Hope, of rebirth and new beginnings - that even in the end of life, something new and glorious will rise from the ashes." The words have the sound of a mantra, of the utmost conviction. She rest a hand lightly on her friend's shoulder, and tries crooning a brief, hopeful snatch of phoenix song into her sleeping ear. There's a gleam in her eyes as they approach the mounds, though.

Balina may have gotten some sleep during those hours, but it's really hard to tell now. By the time the mounds themselves are in view, the patented nose has already visited every hole in the bus, sniffing excitedly.

Makena interupts the lull after Eithne's speech with a giggle.

Grantok awakes not moments after the firecat lays a hand on her shoulder, sweating profusely now. She sits up with a start and a much more audible "No!" Her pupils dilated wide at first, it takes a moment for her to catch onto what exactly is going on, a look of worry heavily written across her face.

[REDACTED] growls in response at Grantok's reaction, and is on her feet, moving closer. She sniffs at the air, and stops a bit away to not crowd. "Is he attacking you through your dreams, dear? You put yourself in the open back there."

Makena pokes her head over the seat and looks at Grantok. "Hehe, gosh he's like a real-life boogyman."

"What?" The bewildered lynx looks about the interior of the bus, a lengthy look at Inola, before settling on [REDACTED] to respond to her. "N-no... Maybe. I'm not sure."

Balina inserts an invading nose past the crowd, forcing herself into the conversation. "Useful terror dream, or general and useless terror dream? I thought those were generally over with after, y'know."

Grantok stares blankly at the back of the seat, internally running through the last few moments in her head before rifling out her journal and making a few swift notes before they are forgotten. "Useful in certain measures... I don't know about the rest, yet." She turns to Balina with a look of dread. "And they had. Or so I had thought. It doesn't make sense. So it could be him attacking through dreams possibly."

Makena giggles "You have a classification system for the terror dreams? I don't even have nightmares haha"

Eithne pats Grantok on the shoulder, gives one last, comforting croon, and then crawls over the seat to stare out the window at the mounds. "You can tell us, if you want, on the way to the mounds. Eyes and ears sharp, please - I've got a feeling things are about to go bottoms up. But we'll pull through." A serious nod, and she slinks over to the door.

Balina nods in general assent, cocks her head towards Grantok, then sticks her nose over into next to a nearby hole, either making herself useful or keeping herself entertained. Maybe both.

Inola passes back to Grantok, "If this is all my fault, I'm so sorry, but thank you again for risking yourself for my friend." She gets up on her feet and moves to the bus door. "We're here. And we're going to have to see if we can stop that thing before he can puzzle out where Wisadejak took Coyote's knife. You'll have to excuse my people for being terrible guardians." and she pops the door open and gets on solid ground again. She's long since shed her sheriff's hat, her hair flowing in the heavy wind.

Makena hops up and follows her out!

One of Balina's ears flick as the door opens, then she is almost instantly at Eithne's side, nudging lightly and gesturing towards her own back. "Time to stress-test the handles, dear," she says with hardly-restrained glee.

Makena looks around, "So what's our first clue, besides knowing where to drive the bus? hehe"

The dog-that-was-once-a-man growls and moves to the back of the bus, refusing to leave. It's name never spoken, [REDACTED] leans over to scritch his ears, and says, "You wouldn't be in any shape to fight it either. I'm sorry you went through something so terrifying, but you're strong to make it through alive." and then follows the group out the bus, helping Sorien down onto the dirt.

Eithne reaches out to scritch the newly made coyote as well, before pulling herself into Balina's backpack. "For SCIENCE!" She gets herself comfy, and grips the new handles, peering around in the darkness as she keeps herself alert. Never know when they could be ambushed, or if something will stand out to her attentions. Her tiny tactical map of the mounds themselves is held in place with her tail and an elbow.

Grantok shakily makes her way off of the bus, her nerves still somewhat recovering. She looks to Inola with a bit of a smile on her face. "Not at all. It's not like you were expecting any of this before the past few days as it were." She visibly attempts to steel her nerves with brief shake of her head and light slap of her cheek. "It'd be best if we stick together in these parts. With what little we do know, Shadow, or his representatives, are here and a few steps ahead of us. Not like we're going to let that stop us though."

Inola speaks mostly to herself. "Beyond what's visible, there's a network of tunnels underneath, and four extra burial sights that are far older. My people were buried in the four furthest east. Other tribes buried their dead in the west, while the central have existed longer than stories." She points out each. "The paths in are locked generally."

Sparhawk makes hir way out of the bus too. "Not least among the benefits are external viewpoints, ones that let us examine lies from other angles and see them as the far-less-convincing things that they are."

Balina manages to get out of the bus, Eithne in tow, without actually bowling anyone over, but it's a close one. She's too busy to really weigh in on the conversation, however, as that would waste precious sniffing time. Trusting her navigator completely, she begins to wander about, getting a feel for the area and trying to sort out background radiation from important quarries.

Makena snarls, "Hmm anyone who can pick locks? hehe"

Inola makes a suggestion to look for broken entrances. There's no direct scent, the monster himself may have been here, but Wisadejak's trail has long since faded with age.

Makena nods, "Hehe, alright! I'll start looking around. Who wants to come with me?" "Signs of activity, yes. Following Balina on her random-walk would be a good thing for those of us with purely mortal noses, though." Sparhawk peers around at the terrain, sorting out where more people with rifles and sneaky dispositions might be lurking.

"Start with the oldest mounds possibly? Ones in the center before moving on to your people's?" Grantok ponders for a moment. "It'd be best sticking together. I doubt we would do well at all in smaller groups, no matter how much more ground we could cover."

Balina growls at nothing. Or rather, growls at the lack of anything. Turning to look towards the group, she calls, "Apparently all dirt smells the same. Should we cut to the chase, or does anyone want to go look for traps cut into the mounds, first?"

Makena snarls, "Hehe, okay! "

Eithne sniffs around a little herself, though not as avidly as her mate. She's trying to find recent scent trails more than anything with her nose, and nods towards the group. "Broken entrances, then. Where were the tunnel entrances and the entrances to the Central and East mounds?"

Makena starts off, "Inola, do you know where to find the entrances?"

Makena snarls, "Or are they all pretty obvious?"

Inola leads the group to the closest, an old iron door that is set under concrete stairs that go down below. "Many tribes have sent money here to make sure this place stays well maintained. Many respected ancestors lay within this earth. She moves up to the door itself, and frowns, and then leans against it. The doors slide open, definitely not locked, but not looking broken.

Makena peeks in "Somebody's been in here?"

Balina is in position to snort around, as is her sworn duty.

Sparhawk peers at the door and mutters something about 'can't recognize the art' while following other people inside. Hir fingers play lightly over the camera strapped to hir vest, quick on the draw for anything sparkly or dark that may appear.

Makena giggles, "Here Inola, let me go in front in case there's somebody inside, okay?"

Inola says, "I... I don't know. It's possible someone else unlocked it intentionally." She holds back, letting others move into the dark tunnels first. "Light would probably be a good idea."

Eithne nods simply, looking around. And then ignites into a corona of 'harmless' fire, soothing aches and pains of those around her. "One kittylight, check. Shall we press onwards, then?"

Makena snarls, "Hehe thank you."

Makena heads along inside with Eithne providing the light

Balina nods her head, then begins, carefully, working her way inside, snuffling along the walls and floor as she does so. It helps to have a decoy like this, but the one carrying the one carrying the light is still target #2b.

Grantok keeps her ears on alert, taking the first available moment to approach the Balthne pair. A few words passed in whisper to the riding glowcat as the search presses on, loud enough for possibly even the carrier to hear.

Sparhawk fishes out some moderately glowing white vials with a free hand and offers some to Inola. "Not magic, strictly science-we-do-not understand. Give it a shake if it feels dim."

Eithne is a very glowy cat, and whispers back to the non-glowy one.

Inola blinks at the light producing object handed to her, and nods. "Multiple sources of light are something I'd appreciate. Especially if we get separated or something bad happens." her voice echos throughout the tunnels. They arrive at a fork not much later, Inola says, "East is toward my people, West toward the other tribes. To get to the center we have to go one way or the other first."

Makena snarls, "East sounds good!"

Makena heads along the east fork

"I estimate, based on how personal the trauma has been designed to be, East was the direction chosen," says Sparhawk. "Even if nothing happened along the way." Makena's hasty choice is followed by Spar's reasoned one, while shi fishes out another lightvial for hir left hand.

Balina bites back an attempt to speak as Makena decides to just head off, grumbling and hurrying behind her decoy.

Makena also has thoughts! But no one knows what they are! Suspence!

Grantok grumbles slightly, pausing to wait for the others to begin pursuit of the trailblazing hyena before setting out in similar manner. No one left behind.

[REDACTED] and Sorien together take up the rear, the two discussing quietly, [REDACTED] moving very protectively with her mate. Her eyes searching the darkness for anything. The tunnels are long, and reinforced earth on each side. The bits of stone are often covered in paintings of ancient stories, and names. Buried people in the earth beyond. The tunnels wind, and fork many times, generally the group stays eastward in main corridors, while the sidepaths lead to small chambers. And then there's a heavy loud wind blowing, echoing like a voice, perhaps a warning. Soon afterward the hazy view of a native man runs by, transparent, a look of fear on his face, clutching something in his hand. It goes turns, running down a sidepath.

Balina waits, watching, knowing precisely what's about to happen.

Sparhawk is interrupted in mid-witticism: "Cameras may only be used without fla--oh, hey." Shi reflexively clears off to the side of the tunnel to make room for whatever's about to happen, hand drifting to the aforementioned camera again.

Makena follows him along down the sidepath, smiling

In the dark, nobody can see wolves roll their eyes and plod along stoically.

Similarly felines. The lynx does attempt to make note of the ghostly man's attire to possibly identify at a latter time.

Eithne blinks, and then narrows her eyes. "... It's either a trap, or an honest help from protective spirits. After it, then? But carefully."

Makena snarls, "I figure it's help! That's why I went east!"

Inola speaks softly in her own language, before she says, "That is not a good thing. The spirits of the long dead should not be walking this earth."

Makena snarls, "Hehe well sure, but that shadow thing shouldn't be in people's dreams either, right?"

"Yeah, well," Sparhawk says awkwardly. "Gods and other such foolishness show up too, and we're working on kicking Oblivion in the face. It's a thing that happens nowadays." Intellectual Skunktaur follows Impulsive Hyena again.

Balina moofs, "Looks of terror generally mean they need help, not us. Aren't we just turning our back on whatever scared him?"

"Wouldn't be the first time for either situations actually. Echoes of people gone actually have a habit of appearing if Sacramento is any indication." Grantok lightly comments as the trek continues. "Just be on edge. Can't be certain that this one is helpful."

Makena, the thoughtful hyena, continues down her well thought out path!

Sparhawk adds, "If it's an /echo/ instead of active flight, we'll find whatever happened down at the end point. So a definite maybe."[[Category:[REDACTED] Events]]